Fear
by Shadowluz08
Summary: Sonic and his friends are forced to endure unspeakable torments by malicious beings after having been kidnapped. Shadow finds out and is determined to rescue Sonic. But will he make it in time? What other things does Shadow have to worry about losing? Another story derived from Sonadow Online.
1. The Run

Fear  
By:Shadowluz07  
Chapter One: The Run

"A darkened sky  
The day that laughter died  
Fell swiftly into night

Graveside I cry  
Please save me from this hell I know."  
-Suicide and Other Comforts by Cradle of Filth

Five children were running for their lives. Where their shoes were blurry in sight and their signs of stopping were nowhere visible. 'Keep running! Don't stop! Just keep running' were the words that ran with them as their hearts beated harder. The youngest of the group were the slowest and the most tired. The eldest ones risked their lives the rescue the young. Shadow promised a secret rescue, but Sonic believed it had taken too long. The pain was unbearable enough to leave them with nightmares of both fantasy and reality. Where will these children go? With an angry man chasing them with a large shot gun, a psychiatric woman with red eyes skipping over to them, and a pack of mad wolves after them. But the children couldn't stop. No! They knew that the worst thing than the bullet wound or murder was much worse than what they were to be expected to experience in the worn down farmhouse.

Shadow was in the military base of G.U.N. which is where he was employed in. He had been in this line of work for a while and wasn't aware of this tragedy until a while later. He discovered this incident on July 24 when the sky poured water and the moon was hidden by the clouds. The ebony hedgehog's fur was soaked when he received the call from a payphone nearby. Red eyes faced the vibrating phone that rang like crazy. Somehow, he sensed it was urgent to answer it. So when his ear touched the black tip, a static was heard over heaving voice of fear. This left the ultimate life confused. "Hello?" he questioned. Suddenly, he recognized the voice of the caller. It was Sonic crying for mercy; enough as if asking for his last breath. This is what went through the call.

"Shadow! Help me! I'm in—"

"In where? What's going on Sonic?"

"He's after us! He's going to kill me! They already killed Cream! Save us Shadow! Please!"

"Where are you?!"

"I don't know! Trace the call or something! I'm scared Shadow… I'm scared, we're all in danger!"

"Who's going to kill you? Hello?"

"HE'S COMING AFTER US! CRAP! HELP ME SHADOW! AH!"

The line was cut off. "Hello? HELLO?" the angry hedgehog slammed the phone back. "SHIT!" he hollered. He kicked the wall with rage and walked back into the base. But Shadow could not come into the base with the story of a friend being in trouble. They only cared if it was a mate or wife that was in peril. If he admitted his relationship with the blue blur, he might be refused of service because of the diversity in sexual orientation were being straight men.

Or so we think… The soldiers saw his face enraged with vengeance and everyone knew something was wrong. "Can we assist you in anything?" asked the General. Shadow blinked twice and nodded "No." he wasn't very caring I guess. "I can manage this situation on my own." Or maybe he does care. The General nodded back to the hedgehog. "Understood; Permission granted with no questions asked." This was strange; usually the general didn't permit this until he knew what the issue was. Could he just have been lucky? Shadow left with a smirk plastered on his face and dashed over to his cot for supplies.

Meanwhile, Sonic ran for his life past the corn field with Amy; who was getting tired and was later brought into her hero's arms. Behind them were Knuckles and Rouge; who tried to get Tails to hurry up. The wild dogs paced revoltingly after them. Their saliva drooled out about a gallon amount each day. But the farmers mixed it with some really old extracts and poisons to weaken the victims. Soon, the fox grew tired of running. His legs could carry him no further and as a result he stopped. The two beings widened their eyes for they knew far too well that stopping was a sin in this case.

You are supposed to run the people out until they stopped chasing you if you want to escape alive. "GET UP TAILS!" Knuckles yelled at the twin tailed fox. Rouge and the echidna stopped to assist the young one. The wolves were closing in at about 10 meters away from their dinner. "Sonic! They stopped! They stopped!" Amy cried as she looked in back of her crush's way. Green eyes looked back. He halted at his position, "No! What are they doing?!" The sounds of dogs were on high mixed with those of the crazy couple. The blur dashed back to his pal and looked at him. The poor fox was exhausted and was lying on the cool wet grass.

"We have to go! Come on!" Sonic pushed his friend to standing up. "I'm tired..." Tails replied back as he layed on the grass. Red eyed dogs growled, for they were now visible to their sight. Aqua irises with black pupils noticed their presence, "I'll carry him! The dogs are over there!" Rouge pointed out with her finger and held the fox close as she spread her wings out. Seeing that Tails was taken care of, Sonic was going to keep running, until a dark arm grabbed him and the other that resembled it; held a shot gun and the blue one's head came into contact with the wood-like bottom.


	2. The Start

Fear

By: Shadowluz07

'The Start'

**Chapter notes:** ANTS: This chapter is in the times before the attack and is actually the start of Sonic and Shadow's relationship. I tried to keep the personality of each character intact.

_From where do we come from? Some say the stars. If so, how did they become? From God? If so, where did he come from?  
Science? How did that function to make us? Almost all of these questions cannot be answered. Sure, it will be a pity for our future generations not being able to comprehend that the world is ending as it has been since the beginning of life. Or at least, since humanity started… _

"Where do we come from Sonic?" asked the confused fox as he examined the constellation above him that was formed by the shining balls of gas many light years away from his position. "From our parents." Sonic replied. They were lying on the cool summer grass of June as the wind whistled the tunes of the night. The twin-tailed fox was next to his companion to occupy him because he didn't really have anything to do at the time. It was around 9 PM and for the fox, it was getting late. "When are you going home?" questioned Tails. The blue hedgehog yawned for three seconds and extended out his light colored arms. Then he jumped up to his stance and replied without looking at him. "Well, it sure is getting dark. We should head back to the other before they get worried. After all, you know how Amy is." His friend laughed in his childish manner. "Alright then. Let's go." The fox jumped up and followed Sonic.

**After they get there**

The pink hedgehog was getting tenser by the second. He had not returned since 7am and her worries were soon reaching her. Tears soon formed in her eyes. A white bat noticed her position. Rouge was applying her thick liquid eyeliner and was holding a mirror in the other hand. As she applied her make-up, she questioned her friend, "Something wrong Amy?" The girl sniffed, "Sonic hasn't come back." Rouge giggled and almost missed her straight lining on the bottom of her eye. "Sonic's a free spirited guy. I'm sure he'll be back because he knows you'll get like this." Before Amy could respond, someone knocked on the 3inch thick redwood door. Amy screamed and ran to the door. "SOOONNNIICCC!" she opened the door and pounced on the visitor at the door. He fell back down the steep stone steps and hit his head. "Ow! Amy! Don't do that!" Sonic replied as he rubbed the back of his head. Amy released him, "Oops. I'm sorry… I was missing you so badly! I was worrying!" "Sure…" Sonic replied and stepped away from her. Tails just watched the two and soon giggled after he saw Rouge come out of the house. "Are you two okay?" Rouge questioned and then noticed the little fox laughing. "What's so funny fox boy?" It didn't take long before Tails had begun to roll on the ground laughing his ass off. "Your… Your eye!" he tried to indicate with a pointing finger. Rouge blinked. "My eye?" She put the mirror to her face. Her eye was smeared with eyeliner! "Oh shit!" she ran back to fix her smeared eye. As she ran to the bathroom, a dark figure watched her go in. But he decided not to question her.

The hedgehogs and fox entered the house and shut the door. Shadow walked out of the hallway and noticed Sonic. "Hey Shadow!" the blue one spoke happily to the dark one. The black hedgehog smirked and waved back. "How was your trip?" "Great. I hope the girls didn't really bother you as much." Shadow closed his eyes and snickered, "Hell, they were more of a pain in the ass than you think." Amy puffed up, "WHAT? YOU'RE A PAIN THE ASS!" Shadow tried his first joke, "Your mom was real pain in the ass!" Amy slashed out her PikoPiko Hammer and Tails screamed and hid under the white polished sofa. Sonic widened his eyes in shock and tried to hold Amy down by grabbing at her arms. "Amy! Calm down! I'm sure he was just joking!" The pink one was becoming more enraged than a jalapeño. "I don't like you!" she insisted and walked off angrily. Sonic blinked and watched her walk off. Shadow stepped closer to Sonic; who wasn't noticing him.

"Hey, Sonic." Shadow called the blue one's attention. "Yes?" he asked. "I was considering something I saw Rouge do and she explained to me what it was." "What is that?" "Well, I… I'm not sure if I'm going to say this right, so, please excuse if I do this wrong." "Okay… Shadow, you're making me wonder what you're going to try to do…" Sonic took a few steps back. The black hedgehog looked down and then back at Sonic. "Um, do you… uh…"Shadow bit his lip. "Do I what? Just tell me because I'm so tired and I just want to fall asleep right now." "Are you in a relationship?" "What do you mean? Like a dating type? No." "Why?" "I just don't really have time for anyone. After all, no one can catch up to me, so no one could really do what I love doing most." "What's that?" "Running; I though you knew that." "Oh, yes, I recall that." "Is that all," he paused for a yawn, "because I really will crash right now." "Do you want to go out?" Sonic widened is eyes. "Are you serious? It's like 10 degrees outside!" Shadow nodded his head, "No. I mean like, date." The blue one laughed out loud, "Who did you lose this bet to?" "I don't understand what you mean. I didn't lose a bet." "Who made you say that? Because you must have lost something!" Sonic proclaimed as he laughed harder. But as his green eyes viewed the red eyed hedgehog, he quickly stopped and commented. "You're fucking serious… aren't you?" "Yes. I want you to be my boyfriend." Sonic put his hands out to block the ebony hedgehog, "Whoa! I don't go that way mate!"

Shadow tried to remember what Rouge said about rejection. But at this moment, he found the options to being stupid. So, he tried his own, "I like you." "I like you too Shadow, but I just can't see you as a relationship kinda guy you know?" Shadow crossed his black arms. "What do you mean not the relationship kind of guy?" "You don't seem really into dating." "Neither do you. That's why I'm asking because it never hurt anyone to try things out." "True, but I don't know." Sonic looked at Shadow and for some reason, he couldn't seem him as the rival he always was. "So, what's your answer?" Shadow asked. Green eyes searched into pure red ones. "I… I need to think about it." He quickly spoke and walked past Shadow. The black hedgehog watched him leave to his room. Tails was still under the couch with all ears.

**Reviewing never killed anyone, so REVIEW**


	3. Lines

Fear  
By: Shadowluz07  
'Lines'

The next morning, Tails was found under the white sofa in the living room. Rouge stared at him with confusion; she reached for his tail and pulled it hard. The yellow fox screamed from the reaction and his aqua colored eyes revealed complete shock. He quickly slid back out and had begun to twitch in his eyes. "Ow!" he said as he softened his tails with his hands. Rouge stepped closer to the child, "Why on earth were you under my couch?" "I...I…" he stuttered, "I'm sorry!" he then cried into his hands. Thinking he was just innocent and just overslept in the wrong place, she warned him not to do that again. Tails nodded and walked off to the bathroom.

Rouge herself decided to the retreat out of the room. As she walked off past the deep red carpet, she heard the phone ring. Her ears picked up the sound and she walked over to it. The caller ID read, in green letters. The bat picked up the phone and placed it against her ear, "Hello?" A deep voice reached her, "I did it. I asked Sonic." Rouge was surprised of Shadow's reply. But she then looked around to clarify that no one was hearing. She then whispered into the phone.

"Okay, that's good. What do you insist on doing next?"

"I'm not sure what I should do. He said he'll think about it."

"Oh, so you don't know anything so far right?"

"No. How much time will he need?"

"I'm not sure; but in the meantime, act normal and if you come across him, ask him if he thought it over yet because you're desperate for an answer."

"I'm not desperate Rouge."

"Just say it! He'll have to say yes."

"Fine then! I'll call back if I need anymore assistance."

There was a beep at the end of the line and the white bat hung up the phone. She sat on her couch and sighed, "Who'd know that it would be so hard to train a guy to go out?" She looked around her comforting living room and decided to go and awaken Amy. She walked past her carpet and through a hardwood hallway that passed several rooms. Out of the last door, Shadow appeared and was walking out. Her eyes watched him as he passed by. The ultimate life form didn't notice her expression and headed out the door. Hypersonic hearing could capture the sound of fire powered skates turning on and hitting the ground and past the driveway.

* * *  
Sonic the Hedgehog paced across the green fields of spring and left a light breeze for those nearby. He then stopped at a tree that was five feet taller than he was. He put his gloved arm on the tree bark and yawned with the other as it went across his face in a fanning way. Then, a reminder came to him. He had forgotten all about the proposal. He looked at the grass as he thought. 'Why would Shadow want me? We were always rivals?' He closed his eyes and thought back the times of ARK, the Black Arms, The Metarex, and Metal Sonic. The black hedgehog was always with him and was a great competitor when he was the enemy, but he was a great friend when they battled together.

"Hm… he's a great guy, but I don't know if I could date him." He said to himself and noticed a similar shadow next to his that was reflected by the sun behind him. "Hello Sonic." Greeted the ultimate life. Emerald eyes caught him in sight and did not expect his presence. Sonic suspected that Shadow wanted an answer. The dark form crossed his arms and asked politely, "Have you decided yet?" The blue one scratched his head and replied, "Eh, I'm still not sure. Making decisions like this for me take time."

"Please, I'm desperate to know!" Shadow begged as he knelt down before him. Sonic widened his eyes and he knew he could not reject his request. "Um…I guess?" Shadow stood up, "So is that a yes?" The blue blur nodded and smiled heroically, "Sure! Why not? I mean it never hurts to try right?" Shadow smirked back and held Sonic's hand. The young hedgehog blinked in confusion. "Uh, what are you doing?" "Someone told me it was a way of affection." He then caressed his hand delicately. Sonic gave a stranger look, "And you're okay with this?" "Yes, we are going out now aren't we?" "Sure, but it's kind of homo." Black eyelids lowered, "You're queerer than the gestures I make." He confirmed and released Sonic's hand.

"So, people who go out hold each other's hand like that or what?" "Hey! I'm as new to this as you are!" "Then what do we do?" asked the blue one. Shadow's eyes went to the earth, "I really don't know." "Well, for starters, what gave you the idea to go through all this?" He asked without moving his arm of the tree. Shadow was right across from him and had his back on it. His eyes met Sonic's and he felt a strong connection between them, but he shook it off. "Well, to start, you are the only one who can relate abilities to me."

"Okay." He replied with a nod. "And I think you're a very interesting being." "Yes." "And, I have a strong emotion for you that makes me want to be with you." Sonic blinked straightforwardly. "How long ago were you like this?" "I'm not sure. I get amnesia occasionally, so I can't really tell." Shadow replied back and continued, "I admire your love for running and the need to be free." "Gee Shadow, you are a real charmer!" The ebony elder snickered. "Well, it's just honesty." "I admire your honesty Shadow. I feel great knowing I can share my passion with someone that understands." They both smiled at each other and gazed into each other's eyes. But it was just a look, not a sense of diving into the soul of each other. That's where Sonic felt he was falling for him. He looked past the eyes and into his heart. His cheeks were slowly being sprayed with rose color pink. "I don't know why, but I feel so happy that you like what I do. It's different with Amy because she can't do what I can."

Shadow released his eye-contact grip, "Amy is very active and social. I have noticed that I am the complete opposite of her. I'm not a girl, won't overreact, accept your absence, and I won't let anything hurt you as long as we are together." The blue hedgehog blushed again and looked away to hide the blood rush to his face. "Wow! That's really something Shadow! I'm speechless." The elder seized the moment to approach the young one closer.

A gloved hand reached over to the youngster's face. With only a few inches away, they gazed at each other's sparkling irises. "You have red eyes…," replied Sonic in the gaze. He could see his eyes move back and forth, as he stared deeply. What he was seeing looked like a window into his heart. It was certainly broken, taped, and stitched. This made the hero wish to know of his condition. "What about them?" Shadow asked as he stared at his boyfriend's eyes. "They're so… different." A black and red eyebrow rose, "How so?" "They're so mysterious and lost. I can see something, that I didn't know existed in you." "What is it?" They closed in a inch more, making both of them nervous and their heads more tilted towards each other. "I see… pain. Your heart is broken, but you have love in your eyes." Both of their eyelids were now about one-fourth that way down and they got even closer in a way that they were not aiming for. "Love such as this that I have for you is something I can never share with anyone." Somehow, his words of empathy created a force that went through the hero's heart and he felt some sense of happiness within himself. "Shadow…" The dark form hushed Sonic with his gloved finger that pressed over his lips. "You're the only one I know that will be honest to the heart. If I know you this well, I…" the sweet voice hesitated.

What Shadow had been saying were things he had read on index cards when Rouge was indicating on special lines to say. 'SHIT! I FORGOT MY FUCKING LINE!' the charcoal one screamed at himself inwardly. What was he to do? He had to finish, but all was script and he did not know half of what he said actually meant! To make matters worse, Sonic noticed an error. Loving rubies had become blank red colored irises. "Is there something wrong?" he asked and noticed his distance and stepped away. Shadow watched Sonic step further back from how close they were to a kiss. In his head, he was yelling at himself a large diversity of profanity and alarms setting off that things were not going right. They were doing so well, until this moment. Shadow decided to look away and tried to find a recovery to his speech; anything to save the moment in someway. "Where was I? " Sonic grew a frown or sign of disappointment. "You were talking about why you wanted me and knowing me well."

There was only one quote in the ultimate life form's mind now. It was, "I'm an idiot." "Why do you say that?" Sonic replied. Shadow did not know he had his mind spoken aloud. "Eh…"

Shadow's P.O.V.

I really did not know what to say. I screwed up my lines, called myself an idiot, and have probably the word loser all over me! This is bad for my reputation as the ultimate life form. I'm looking at Sonic and he's just a really awesome guy and I'm here not knowing what to say because I was just too into him. Now that I think about it, SCREW THIS! I'm just going to say what I want to say! Fuck what Rouge said! I sound like a fucking idiot anyway!

ORIGINAL P.O.V.  
"Sorry Sonic, I just don't know how I'm going to go on with this relationship if I don't know how to say what I want to say." "Then just tell me!" "It's not that easy! I have mixed emotions for you." This was slowly becoming an argument. "Why the hell are you stressing out so much about it then? How hard is it to say that you love me?" "Sonic, you know god dam well I don't know what love is!" There was attitude in the air, especially with Sonic. "Well, if you don't know what it is, why did you ask me out?" "That doesn't concern you!" "YES IT DOES SHADOW!" Funny thing was that as the conversation got more in, they were drawing in some way together, but maintained a distance. "Sonic, you're a great guy. You've done so much for so many, I just wished you'd shed some light in my life!" "

Why didn't you just tell me that?" "DO YOU THINK THIS IS FUCKING EASY?" Shadow hollered, making Sonic feel small, but he stood up in his position, "NO! AND I WILL NOT HAVE YOU YELLING AT ME THIS WAY!" "THEN WHY THE HELL ARE YOU YELLING AT ME?" "YOU STARTED IT!" "I STARTED BECAUSE I COULD SHOUT TO THE HEAVENS SO MANY THINGS ABOUT YOU!" "Crap like what?" "THAT I NEED YOU! I NEED YOU SONIC!" Invisible tears rolled down the dark forms eyes as he grasped Sonic and tightly as possible and held him in a hug. The blue hedgehog stood in shock. One moment there was an argument; the next, there is forgiveness. "I'm sorry..." they both apologized and hugged for about 3 minutes. Each one caressed each other's back and felt something special was forming between them. It cannot be explained in any words.

Before they knew it, Sonic and Shadow were looking into each other's eyes profoundly but at their distance. One whispered, "I love you." While the other caressed the other's face. Love was taking it's toll on two inexperienced creatures. But no one knew about this. What would Amy say? What about Knuckles or Tails? These thoughts did trespass through each hedgehog's mind. But it would take a thousand soldiers to knock down their moment.


	4. Establishing

Fear  
By: Shadowluz07  
'Establishing'

The two hedgehogs have been establishing a great friendship with each other since the origin of their relationship. They called this friendship because of two reasons. One, they didn't want to unveil of the existing relationship because it just started. Two, they weren't sure if what they were feeling about each other was real. It was difficult to call their relationship serious; so they decided to play the roll of best friends. However, when they were alone, Shadow used the master techniques of romance to progress on his relationship with the blue hedgehog. It wasn't easy for either of them because Sonic couldn't tell if he was being flirted with and Shadow would forget his lines. So, when will they face their friends with the truth?

+++In a Forest….+++

"I'm not coming down, Shadow!" hollered Sonic from a tall tree. "Come on Sonic! Get down from there!" Shadow yelled back. The blue hedgehog nodded his head and spoke in a young voice, "No! I'm not getting off this branch!" he held the branch closer to his chest wrapped his legs around it. The elderly hedgehog made a small pout and crossed his dark arms. "Sonic the Hedgehog, don't make me go up there!" The hero turned his face and stuck out his pink tongue as a gesture. Shadow growled at the sight of the insult. "That's it! You asked for it!" At a dashing speed, the ultimate life form sprinted upward towards the high part of the tree by using the objects around him to gain elevation. Sonic, seeing the speed of the black hedgehog; he immediately jumped down and hit the floor. Shadow noticed the sudden change in location of his lover and pursued him downward.

When the black hedgehog reached the ground, he dashed towards the blue one. Sonic widened his eyes at the incredible speed of the other and ran for his own sake. Both runners of great velocity ran through the forest. Flying aircrafts above them could only see, however, the dashes of light they left behind. Sonic happily laughed as he looked back and noticed his competitor was nowhere in sight. His fast feet came to a stop near a redwood tree. Green eyes surveyed the area in search of the striped hedgehog. "Where is he?" he wondered. A dash of light rose above the canopy of the trees. It slowly made its way down to the middle of the forest floor. His fire skates hit the ground in silence. "Shadow?" Sonic questioned by the swiftness of the sudden breeze. Then right behind the blue hedgehog, stood the ultimate life form; whose eyes were locked on target. Sonic's eyes continued to wander around in search of the other hedgehog. When he was just about to turn his head to look behind him, the ebony one attacked first.

Sonic was thrown to the ground with great force. He had a surprised expression before his face was placed onto the dusty earth along with the rest of his body. A gloved hand reached for the cerulean quills on his back and the dark one spoke, "I win, faker!" Sonic moaned in great agony, but he managed to pull himself together to standing up. His green eyes looked at deep red. "Why are you so much into rough play? I thought we were done with rivalry?" Shadow snickered, "What's wrong? Can't take a little pressure?" Sonic found the emotion in him to smile back and giggle a bit.

"Well, you've won this round; but I won't go so easy on you next time!"

"You always go easy on me."

The young one changed his voice into something of more innocence, "No I don't!"

"Admit it faker, you're terrible at tag when I'm the only one playing."

His rival growled in a competitive way, "You're going to regret saying that. Moreover, stop calling me faker! You already know my name!"

"What's the matter with faker? Can't take a little… name calling?"

"That was my nickname when we were rivals, why are you still calling me that?"

"It suits you well."

"So you're calling me fake in this relationship or something?"

"No. This is just my way of teasing you… its fun."

Sonic pouted, "Well, I don't like being judged, Mr. Ultimate life form." Shadow revealed a surprise expression in his eyes, "Are you mocking me now?" The youngster snickered and gave a secretive grin, "Maybe…" It has been only weeks since this couple formed and Shadow found it astonishing that his lover was catching onto the flirting process (even if it was new to both and rare to locate them doing so.) The two very distinct hedgehogs of two opposite personalities have learned to care for one another and understand the issues of each other in a way. The black hedgehog; thanks to Rouge's assistance, this lover has been persuading Sonic into the realm of actual dating. However, the hero, being as close-minded in love as any free-spirited teenager; he hardly noticed the romance in his boyfriend.

Shadow revealed his rare smile. "Foolish hedgehog" he nodded his head in a way that he felt that Sonic's comeback was a pitiful sight. The phrase, Foolish, was not one the white bat gave as a suggestion. Her words were not that clear to the dark one's ears. He used this name with his mate rather than 'babe', 'baby', 'darling', or any other title in that category. "Is that the best you can do?" The blue blur snickered, "Oh, don't worry. I've got more." "Really? Prove it."

"Well, first of all, you are pretty gay about this whole dating thing. It's really unlike you."

"I could say the same thing about you. Who was the one who agreed? Hm?"

"Oh please! You proposed it! So obviously, I said yes. Anything to get Amy out of the way."

"So… you're saying that you used me?"

"No way Shadow! I'm not that mean."

"Oh… so you're a bad hero. Bad example for the younger children."

"Shut up! Like you know how easy it is to be good all the time. Matter of fact, I just have a knack for being a hero most of the time."

"You do realize your comebacks are useless."

"As useless as your reason of creation."

"Shut up! Like you have any idea why I was made."

"Why wouldn't I? I already know it was for you to be my first boyfriend."

Shadow blinked and was speechless. He had expected something more deep in the evil manner but for some reason, he felt as if Sonic was somehow trying to attract him in a way that only Rouge would explain. Thoughts raced in the life form's mind to search for an explanation. Because of this, there was a long silence between the two hedgehogs. "You're full of surprises and everyday, you seem to stun me with things I never knew you'd say." Blue eyelids covered green irises, but reopened them.

"What do you mean? I was saving myself from your rage."

"That it sounded like a flirt."

"And you would know what that is, how?"

Shadow nodded his head and looked up at the sky. "It's getting late. We should be heading back." Sonic raised a brow, "Why do we need to go back now? It's still day out." The black hedgehog fired up his shoes and ran off through the trail. He yelled back to Sonic, "You promised Amy to be back by noon!"

+++Sometime Later...+++  
"Oh! Where is that Sonic?! He said he'd be here at noon sharp!" complained the pink female. Rouge, being along side her on the front porch said, "So much for being the world's fastest hedgehog. He can run fast, but he always skips on deadlines." She paused and widened her eyes,

"Hey, wasn't Shadow with him?"

"I don't know."

"Do you know where Sonic went at least?"

"He never tells anyone."

"That's awkward… Shadow told me he was going to the forest."

"Why does Shadow tell you everything, but Sonic rejects me?"

"He doesn't. He just trusts me a bit more than Sonic more does to you."

Light green eyes gave a serious stare. Rouge sighed, "Okay, maybe a whole lot more, but still. I'd be scared if some crazy fan of mine started chasing me around." Amy looked down at her lawn and felt ashamed. The grass was drained of morning dew, but it glimmered in the sunlight.

"Do you really think I overreact? I mean… I am always cheerful and stuff."

"You should try settling down more. Guys like the calm girls more than the over exaggerated ones. Life isn't a painting, sure it's a mixture of colors and figures… but it takes a hell lot of work to keep you in that painting."

"What does that mean?"

Suddenly, a strong wind blew across the shining grass. The wind was so strong that it blew the birds out of the tree in front of the house and made Amy's dress lift. Luckily, she placed her hand over it to keep it down. "What was that?" questioned Rouge. The wind stopped as Sonic and Shadow appeared into view. Amy opened her eyes and saw her hero. Her eyes glistened in light green and her heart had begun to beat in an extreme rate. It seems as if she had forgotten she had spoken to Rouge about this. Using her high-pitched voice, she screamed out a name, "SONIC!" She ran down her porch and hugged the blue hedgehog. The teenager tried getting away from her tough grip by swinging his arm around and using his other one to push her away. "Amy, please! You're squishing me!" The ebony hedgehog laughed as he watched the poor hedgehog suffocate. "Okay, seriously Amy, I can't breathe!" Once the pink hedgehog realized her mistake, she quickly released him and looked down. "I'm really sorry…" Sonic looked at her, "It's okay." He swayed his gloved hands on his legs to brush off the extra dirt on him.

It wasn't long before the pink one recollected her regulation of Sonic's curfew. "Where were you? Do you realize how worried sick I was?" The hero gave a surprised look. He was no longer seeing the cheerful hedgehog he had always feared and rejected; the opposite of knew and loved. "What do mean Amy?" She growled at his innocent statement. Her eyes soon filled with agony and hatred. "Haven't you ever seen someone you love disappear from your very eyes without them saying goodbye or where they'd be heading to in case they run into trouble?!" Sonic soon changed his behavior into a more concerned state and almost to the peak of maturity "Amy… I didn't think you'd overreact about me leaving for a small run." Light colored eyes soon dripped water and a hammer soon appeared in her hand. This shocked the hero. "Overreacting? YOU THINK I WAS OVERREACTING?!" The dark hedgehog moved over to his female friend and whispered into her ear, "Now she is." He also added another statement. The bat smirked at looked back at the now aggravated girl. "This is going to be a hell of an argument."

Sonic widened his eyes and swayed his arms back and forth and they crossed in the air as a gesture to stay away. "Amy, please, you're letting your temper get to you!" She then portrayed a monstrous expression of rage. "Then let me show you how over reactive I can be!" She swung her hammer, but Sonic's palm captured it in the air. The pink hedgehog growled, "Let go, Sonic!" Sonic grunted, her strength was incredibly strong, but he refused to let go. "No! Amy, you just need to calm down! I didn't come here late on purpose! It was Shadow who reminded me to come back here!" Suddenly, her strength and anger dropped and her eyes returned to their regular state. "W-what do you mean?" Sonic released Amy's hammer and explained to her how he had lost track of time and Shadow had reminded him to return to her. Light green eyes saw the ground and tears streaked down from her face. "I'm sorry…" More had begun to pour down like a river. Her hands covered her face and she apologized once more. "I honestly don't know what came over me! I'm not like this!"

With no words or strings attached, Sonic held Amy in his arms as a way of understanding and forgiveness. Her heart seemed to rest on his welcoming hug. Although no one spoke, emotions were speaking in a deep conversation. Shadow, being Sonic's boyfriend, found that this was not something his eyes should have bestowed. His eyes grew in a sight of envy through his thick crimson irises. Rouge looked at him and noticed what was going through his mind. It wasn't that he felt love for Sonic and he wanted no one with him except himself, but he felt it was his obligation not to allow any girls to steal what was to be his. That is, according to Rouge's lessons on romance… But there was one line she used that triggered the following event. The tears falling from the young girl's eyes stained her face. Their eyes met and she told him with honesty, "I'm afraid to lose you." Sonic sighed and replied,

"Amy, I know you really like me, but you have to realize that we are not together! I only save you because you're one of my greatest friends."

"Lies! You hide your truths from me! I can see your true feelings and yet you refuse to speak them!"  
"I'm only telling you the dead truth Amy! It's not that I'm hiding anything! If I ever loved you, I'd tell you! But YOU are lying to YOURSELF!"

Amy pushed herself away from her hero and cried tears of agony, "You men are heartless and cold to the bone! Leaving girls such as I waiting for boys like you just to say 'yes'! You break a piece of me every time I hear the same thing!" Sonic formed a frown, "It really does hurt me that you suffer because YOU have chosen to and you blame ME!" The argument continued and as words transferred back and forth, Shadow stepped in to break the argument, and to claim his boyfriend away from the fan girl. To start, Shadow had begun to walk between them and spread his arms out as a gesture to stop. "Stop it already!" The two hedgehogs stopped and listened to the ebony hedgehog. "You guys act like little kids!" Sonic raised his ego, "She started it!" "Damn right I did!" shouted Amy with her egotistic attitude. "There's a lot of tension between you two. Let's just all calm down and-" Shadow was interrupted by Sonic's unforgivable statement, "Can't you see that Amy doesn't listen with her ears?! Honestly Amy, what are you trying to be- My mother or girlfriend?" Shadow lowered his arms and looked upon the blue hedgehog with a surprised expression.

Soon, Rouge appeared and faced the egotistic hero with angry eyes of aqua. Instead of settling this in a mature manner, she allowed her fists to do the talking. The white bat swung her gloved fist at a great force and it pressed against the hero's face. He was blown away by the unexpected attack. "You'd better take that shit back if you know what's good for ya!" Sonic rubbed the impacted area on his face with his palm and groaned quietly from the pain. He then snickered, "If you're trying to teach me a lesson about manners, you'd better do better than that Rouge." He paused and smirked at her, "How could I possibly learn from someone who is a complete hypocrite. You're upset because I said that Amy doesn't know what the hell she really wants; which is quite true, while you live life not knowing what you want. You're always flirting between Shadow and Knuckles. Honestly, you seem like a confused whore." Rouge's eyes narrowed and her eyebrows centered to the middle. Her boots were ready to charge at through the thick grass. She could see herself kicking him in the face so hard that he'd fly, but when she tried, something stopped her.

A pair of dark arms that gripped her body stopped her. He was holding her down and not giving any way of release. "Let go of me! This doesn't concern you Shadow!" She yelled as she tried to push him away. His deep voice spoke solemnly, "It has everything to do with me." His red eyes searched for Sonic's emerald ones. When Sonic and Shadow connected, the teenager sensed he was in trouble. "Sonic, get into the house and that's an order!" The young one hesitated, "But Shadow, I…" The ebony one's look went deeper, "I don't want to hear excuses! Just get into the fucking house, now! We'll discuss this later." With no more replies, Sonic rushed to Amy's house. It was ironic that Shadow sent him to the home of the girl he just insulted… When Sonic had disappeared from their eyes, the life form looked back at the struggling bat in his arms. "I'm going to release you. But know that I'll talk to him about his behavior." The female tried to cool her rage, but the dirty look in her eyes spoke of hate. "I'm not beating the shit out of him for you." She said and walked off when he released her. Her heels allowed her to move above the grass and towards the devastated hedgehog. "Amy… this isn't your fault."

Green eyes filled with water, but they were closed from the world. "Yes it is. He hates me. He fucking hates me." The white bat wrapped her caring arms around the pink one and she caressed her back. "Calm down, Amy. It's not your fault." The negative one sighed and walked into the brick walled home. As he walked in, the house held many accessories. Crystal chandeliers dazzled the living room and the glowing light bulbs of the other rooms made the house luminous. He walked past the crimson carpet and past light pink walls; through wooden furniture and marbled tiled floors, until he reached the back of the house. Past the back door was Sonic, leaning on a white iron rail. "What the hell was that about?" questioned the dark one. Sonic turned his attention from the outside view of the balcony and towards Shadow. "Oh, it's you…" He had the expression of a depressed child. His eyes were sad and his ears drooped when he noticed it was Shadow. Sonic felt as if he had disappointed his loved one and was about to receive a great punishment for it. This for Sonic was rare because he never usually felt deprived of having to receive one.

The older one stepped out into the balcony and stood beside his male companion. "Sonic, you didn't answer my question." Elbows pressed onto the iron bar and the back of Sonic's gloves hands were used to keep his head in a locked position. Still, the child refused to look at Shadow. "I have nothing to say." Shadow refused to let Sonic out of his sight; he hoped to find some sense of a reasonable reaction. "You know what you did was wrong right? You can't treat your friends like that only because they're really attracted to you and can't help expressing it. Don't act like the innocent one." Just before he could continue with the lecture, there was an incident occurring right before their eyes. Crimson eyes stared at the azure hedgehog, but his ears were picking up a disturbance. Sonic was all ears towards the human conflict going on about ten feet away from them. Past Amy Rose's flower bed and patched up garden, were in a revolting kissing spree. Tongue and lips were in motion; with so much passion, it seemed that they could devour each other in that spot! There was a Caucasian male with blue eyes, brown hair, and a height of six feet. The female was an albino. Her hair was almost silver, her eyes were a grayish-red, skin was pale as snow, but her height was of an average. Suddenly, another female approaches. Her face was blurry to both hedgehogs, but her facial expressions were so dramatic, that even they knew what her feelings were. She was a bit over the height of the albino, but not taller than the boy. This girl was blonde with blue-green irises and her skin; tan, but you could still tell she was of European decent.

She was walking around but stopped and stared at the couple before her. They didn't seem to notice her until she hollered at them. "So this is how you thank me, with you betrayal?" The couple split and the male walked to the other and he had an 'uh oh' kind of look. "Marilyn, please, it's not what it seems!" he pleaded to cover his sins. However, the blonde was not fooled.

"Damn your lies, Kyle! I know you've been eyeing her since sixth grade and now you're doing this?"  
"Mary, I-"  
"Shut the hell up! You have no right to do this to me!"

She then turned to the other girl, who was cringing in her stance. Her knees were bent, head was kept low, and her eyes were filled with shame. Marilyn looked upon the albino, "Sister, I warned you not to fuck with me, and that's exactly what you did! You had no damn right to steal my boyfriend!" Sonic and Shadow created expressions of the "burn" effect as what they call in slang for trouble with no exits; or something like that. The blue hedgehog then sighed as he began a new conversation; since Shadow seemed to have calmed down about the situation of misjudging the girls. "Ah, romance! That's why I never wanted to deal with it in the first place. The state of affairs they have are so complicated." Shadow looked at him and their eyes met, but only for a second before he turned back to the humans.

"Supposedly, when you love each other you're supposed to resolve your problems together. The human race makes love sound so cheesy; they fight over the most absurd things!"

"Even Amy seems to have some part in this issue. I like being friends with everyone, but she acts like any girl I talk to is her enemy or if I'm gone for a long time, that I'm dead or something."

"Well, what would you do in her shoes?"

"I avoid romance so I wouldn't have to deal with this nonsense! You're really mature about complex situations. That's why I enjoy ending up with you."  
The black hedgehog felt a bit flattered, but continued with the conversation, "In that case, I agree. I'm glad we don't have to deal with this crap. I mean, even Knuckles seems to make love more difficult than it really is. We all know he's into Rouge, but he denies it when asked. It's so stupid! Why does he do that?"

"It's because Knuckles is a knucklehead who thinks he's so tough and prefers to be looking like the awesome tough guy. It's really cheesy if you ask me."

"Exactly!" Shadow announced as he turned to his mate. They were know facing each other. The dark one continued, "But I think Rouge likes that about him. Perhaps it's their special way of attracting each other." The blue hedgehog dropped his head and stared at his shoes; as if to express a sense of innocence. He then begun to click his sneakers sideways in a playful manner. "Hey…Shadow?" Shadow blinked, "Yeah?" Sonic looked back at him, "How come we don't do that?" The ebony one moved his eyebrow, "Do what?" Gloved fingers twisted around each other in a nervous way and emerald eyes seem to reveal shyness. "Well, everyone seems to have strange moments when they're really into each other. Like Rouge and Knuckles. What's our way?" The couple in front of them continued to argue, but the two hedgehogs seemed to have forgotten them. Jet-black and crimson arms crossed and dark eyelids closed. A smirk was formed on his muzzle and he chuckled under his breath. "Get each other in trouble!" Sonic looked at him in deep confusion, "What do you mean?" He opened his eyes and revealed deep red irises. "I told Rouge to kick your ass!" Sonic's eyes widened and he yelled, "That was your idea?!" Suddenly, the blue hedgehog sprinted into action and tackled the striped hedgehog. Shadow dodged and skated off into the yard. The speedy hedgehog followed and yelled behind his target, "I'll get you for that Shadow!" The two boys chased each other and the humans quit their arguing. Instead, they had begun to watch the new playful vengeance established by Sonic the Hedgehog on his former boyfriend, Shadow, the ultimate life form.

**Chapter end notes:** the more you review, the more_ ganas_ for me to continue. 


	5. The Most Important Rules

Fear

'The Most Important Rules'

Shadow's P.O.V.

**Chapter notes:** Like the Valvoline line, "Probably doesn't cut it?" This part was hard to develop, but it was a blast writing it. There's plenty of foreshadowing. Enjoy and please review.

I feel foolish having to ask for my comrade for advice. Especially since she is a female. It's bad enough that I don't have a male companion to share my thoughts with. Is it bad to have another character teach you the 'sweet talk' and 'moves'? I'm not ashamed of me having to seek out my archrival, but that doesn't mean I'm not worried. I don't feel that what I feel for him is wrong; abnormal I'll admit, but I have no shame. However, I can't help but have the constant fear of competition and loss out of the relationship. Rouge just fed me a few more tips of the relationship status quo and it seems to be making sense. I started out noticing jealousy in my thoughts when I thought about how Amy would go all over Sonic, but then I recollected the day he pushed her away. So I was a little more secure. My mentor told me that jealousy was natural to feel during a relationship and that talking it out with your loved one can help the couple maintain reassurance of each other's faith. I believe faith in a relationship is very important. Perhaps due to the fact of how she pushed her lecture of unfaithfulness and adultery to me.

"Once you see that your lover is with someone else and is acting in any romantic way; I don't care if its kissing, or fucking, you end the relationship right then and there. Allow no excuses because what they'll say is plain bullshit they made up in the moment they started cheating on you. Life's cold, so you have to be a bitter son-of-a-bitch and let them know they can't fuck with you. Don't show your grief, just move on. They aren't worth your love, nor your tears. Most importantly, don't take them back no matter what!" Now, I know what you're thinking, 'That's a pretty hardcore speech.' She was very strict about the topic. It made think that perhaps she ran into a few jerks in her lifetime. I never had the guts to ask her about it though. Even though I'm supposedly her 'best friend', I was afraid I'd get the boot if I tried. She told me that I can be open with her about anything, but I like keeping things to myself usually and I don't think mentioning her past life would be in the area of her comfort zone.

Over all, I don't think Sonic is the type that would become disloyal. He's a headstrong hero, but he does have a few minor flaws that might deprive his honesty. Sonic has been known to possess childish, careless, ego, and inappropriate behavior. As long as it doesn't get to the best of him, we should be fine. I think….

Original P.O.V.  
-In a dark room-  
"Please, father! You must stop this madness! I can't take it anymore!" said a young voice. The one beside him frowned and confronted him fearlessly, "And what makes you think I would listen to the words of a child?" Emotions rose from the memory of his previous events, causing him to hold water in his eyes. The other rolled his eyes and felt no compassion for the child. "Don't go weak on me, boy! You have a purpose here, and if you break," he grasped his son's neck tight enough for a strangle. "I'll break your fuckin' neck!" He released him and watched as his son held his throat and gulped air. He looked upon him with lifeless eyes and soon a reminder reached him. The father smiled, "That reminds me, you have some hunting to do." The young boy was breathing normally, but after hearing his father's words, he began to shake and shiver. He widened his eyes and looked around in a paranoid matter. He was not facing his father, but the ground. So he turned to his father and answered fearfully, "Oh God, No! Not again! I'm tired of it!" The man knelt down to his boy and looked him in the eyes.

"Whether you want to or not, you must. However, this time, it's different. I will accompany you. All you have to do is play the role of bringing them in." "But that is what I do."

"Yes, but this time, I'll be with you in the truck and we'll do it together."  
"It's still wrong..."

"Our victims shall be different as well. These aren't randomly selected, I want you to find five special ones."

"What are they? What will you do to them father?"

"The youngest is ten and the eldest is seventeen. There are three boys and two girls. I'm pretty sure you could do the science on that."

The young one covered his mouth due to the nausea and fear developing within himself. Soon, he cried. The man ignored his own son's tears and proceeded with his instruction. "I know these children. Feel free to bring their friends, but no one older!" he stood up and walked over to a bucket in a dark corner. He reached for it and took out a small piece of paper. He walked back to him and handed him a yellow note. "Here is the list of their names." The child looked over them and as he read over them, he couldn't believe that this was really happening. He was left stunned.

"But father, this is too much! To go after these is a suicide mission!"

"That's precisely why I want them. Apparently, Sonic's got a secret lover and I am determined to ruin their relationship. Oh, how I would love to wipe to the smile off his damn face! Don't worry, I have plans on how to keep this a secret."

The child didn't bother to ask his father why he was planning this. He knew what the assignment was and as much as he hated it, he wasn't going to let the difficulty stop him to do what he needed to keep himself alive. He knew what his father was like without his drug and he recalled his previous words of how he would end up if he was not given what he wanted. But because the child had a heart different from his family, he also knew he could help the victims in anyway possible. He had done so in the past, and he had no reason to turn back on the incoming victims. "If my plans fail, such as them escaping, I will stop at nothing to get them back. They are not to leave this place until my work is complete. He eyeballed him through the child's skull, making the son nervous.

. . .

It was almost as if not much has changed between the two hedgehogs except for the fact that they have been spending suspiciously long hours with each other in a way that their friendship seemed underrated. "Why is Sonic all of a sudden disappearing?" "He's always been disappearing. The guy likes to travel ya' know?" "But… with Shadow?" The red echidna set his ceramic mug down on the dark coffee table. "What are you getting at? It's not like there's anything bad about it." "But the two were rivals very distinct from each other, had different points of view and beliefs!" she paused and set her glass mug down as well, 'I mean, it just doesn't make sense!" "Don't tell me you're getting jealous now are you?" he joked, bringing the half empty cup to his mouth. "It's not that, " she picked up her glass and sighed, "It's just doesn't click. How could Sonic stand being with someone he can hardly match with?" Knuckles took a sip from his cup and brought it back to the air. "Distinct people can find similarities in each other or sometimes they like the idea of being different. It makes the relationship between each other more mysterious. Unlike with Sonic and Shadow, they both can relate to having great running abilities and a great dedication to their friends. Amy stared at the beverage that swirled around in brown and creamy white. "I get what you mean." Her face turned cold and hurt. 'So what makes me different. Maybe… I'm too different.'

She thought. Knuckles, being bold and cocky about it, he tried demonstrating strength to her, but Amy was a soft, heart warming friend that simply wanted a chance at love. Unfortunately, her brain was filled with more hearts than brains. She wasn't dumb, just hard to move when she set her mind to someone. She followed her heart before her head. He finally set his mug down and looked back to the pink one. He looked at her and noticed that the life seemed to be slowly exiting her. She seemed lost and cold. He tried getting closer, "Hey." No response. The echidna tried to grasp the girl's attention, but she seemed to be sucking herself into an imaginary black hole. He felt awkward about doing this, however, he felt he felt it was best. He put his hand over hers and lifted her face, "Hey, you okay kid?" She looked at him with sad green eyes.

It was hard for him to look directly back at her. CLICK! He could sense her fragility, so tried a different approach. Knuckles placed his hand over her shoulders. CLICK! "Amy, listen to me. There's no reason to cry. I know you miss him, but you just have to fight through it and if you have to, move on. He isn't worth your tears." All of a sudden, a high pitched cry was launched and a river of tears poured down her face. He reacted surprised and decided to let her go. He felt helpless in the situation and found it best to perhaps leave. He couldn't be much of help anyway, bold as he was. Knuckles slowly walked towards the exit, but just as he opened the door, a flash of bright light flickered in his eye; blinding him. He squinted and reopened them fully and to his amazement, it vanished. CLICK!

-In the desert area—

"Put your leg higher." He said while holding the other's leg. The other struggled to push higher. The blue one released the black one's leg and stepped back. "Now try it." The young listener nodded and attempted to complete the task. He stepped down his leg and moved back as well. His sneakers shifted off dry beige dirt and twigs from the dehydrated earth, he shifted his legs upward in attempt to perform a multiple kicking attack. He leaped forward and stretched out his strong, long, and fast striped legs for constant kicking in mid-air then as his altitude was decreasing, he rolled in the air downward and at the end, he stretched out one leg for a downward blow while making a safe landing with his spare limbs. The impacted landing brushed the dirt upward and spread out like wings of a bird, but disappeared as it headed downward. Shadow brought himself up to his feet and looked towards Sonic for the initial rating of his task. With his eyes, he gave Shadow the answer he needed to proceed. He smiled and moved towards Shadow, "Nice job, Shadow! Let's take it from the top now.

"Go back to where we first started and I'll go over on the other side." The black hedgehog nodded without question and went towards his destination. They turned around and looked at one another's stance and movements. They swayed dark pieces of tumble weed and light dirt under their shoes slowly. Simultaneously, they sprinted towards one another. The hero reacted as a defense by using a drift of dirt to deflect his opponent's vision. However, things didn't go as planned. The ultimate life form leaped forward and spun around to crash land on Sonic with the power of a somersault. When he stroke, the heroic hedgehog was pinned to the floor by his rival's fire powered skates.

Dust was blowing around them due to the intense impact and all the movement they provoked in the area. After all, the dirt was quite loose and any movement could spark the lifting of beige color ground. Both hedgehogs breathed mildly to gasp for air. Shadow stepped down and assisted his rival by lending him a hand. The two were at their feet staring at one another in silence. Our hero was the first to complain; he gave the dark one a small push and then placed his hand over his chest. "You're getting stronger." Shadow smirked, "Actually, your move was predictable by your footwork. If you want to catch your enemies off guard, try decreasing your speed in fractions of time. Not all at once." Sonic pouted, "Why should I listen to your suggestions?" The dark one played along evilly by making a fist a making a false pose, "You got something against my techniques? Or should my fist do the talking?" Sonic swayed his hands to his face as a defense, "Dude, chill! I'm only kidding!" Shadow chuckled and put down his fist,

"Ha! To be in fear of an attack from me is pitiful. First, because I can't for you being who you are and second that puts you down as unlike me. Proves to me that I'm more of a hedgehog than you!"

"You caught me off guard that's all."

"Right in front of your face?"

"Well, were supposedly dating and I would have never expected you'd throw a fist at me or not."

"Well now you know I won't."

"Good to know."

The black hedgehog crossed his arms, closed his eyes, and snickered mysteriously. Sonic lifted his eyebrow, "What's so funny?" He nodded his head and opened his eyes,

"No, nothing."

"Nah! Tell me!"

"No, it's stupid."

"It made you laugh."

"Okay? What's your point?"

"It made you laugh so it must be something."

"I didn't laugh"

"You smiled."

"I didn't smile."

"Sure yah didn't."

Shadow didn't respond and simply turned away. Sonic ran to the other side to face him, but his rival continued to turn the other way. The hero continued to follow him around. "C'mon! Tell me!" The red and black hedgehog continued to remain silent. "Aah! Giving me the silent treatment eh?" guessed the blue one and he tried to read the other's body language. "The silent treatment is used in a way of anger." "You're still being quiet." He looked towards him, "So I am." He looked into his eyes, then down, and turned away. "Well, if you really don't want to say anything…" "I was thinking about you." Blue ears perked up. He turned his body around in a 180 degree angle and looked towards him, "What do you mean?" Shadow bravely spoke up, "I wanted to show you something and I was predicting the outcome." Sonic smiled, "Well stop daydreaming and start doing! So, where's this place you want us to go?"

The dark one walked a few steps towards his loved one, "In the woods." He smirked and turned around, but kept his eyes on the hero, "It's far so you'd better not lose my tail!" In a dash, the black hedgehog ran off into the distance and all that remained was a golden streak and a large cloud of dried earth. Sonic coughed as the cloud approached his face. It was thick, but he cleared it away with his arm so it wouldn't blind him. "Oh, I won't!" he announced as he followed the large ray of light beyond the dust cloud. He followed Shadow down to the end of the desert road, across the asphalt covered road where a black and white cow mooed at every passing by, to the entrance of the forest.

At the foot of the woods, tall trees of dark green leaves and red wood greeted, it's newcomers with a enlightened path guided by the bright sun. It was in the perfect position. The path was neither to dark nor too bright. When Sonic stopped to see the path Shadow was traveling, he was wondered if it had always been like this. He was in awe, but he made sure not to extend his mind about it. Shadow was moving on and the hero wasn't willing to get lost. The paths were enlightened, but mixed in different ways. Each row of trees would lead to different places. The forest floor was covered in dried brown and yellow leaves and a few green ones. The canopy's open spaces designed by the leaves seemed to look decorated as if purposely. Rays of the sun beamed down to the floor through the vacant spaces.

He tried jumping over a large thick root arising from the dirt, but he tripped and managed to look up. Green eyes gazed at the natural design for a few seconds, before a small noise reminded him to keep moving. But as he moved, he began to think to himself, 'Is nature designing this purposely or is this a coincidence?' At last, the fast hedgehog halted in front of a large white spider web. It was silk-like and soft looking. A spider lurked on the corner with her children in a small corner while small white balls held helpless insects. Green and red eyes looked upon the giant web. Sonic then looked to Shadow, who was looking at the web, "Why'd you bring me here?" The dark one hushed him and used his hand to direct him to move forward. The ultimate life form split the web in half gently like a curtain on windows. The teen followed and looked at what laid beyond.

There were trees cornering the scene. Its leaves drooped down like the dangling decorations that would hang over one's doorway. They seemed carefully and yet correctly position in a way that it looked almost planned. In the center was a large pond filled with large fish, bleach white swans swam on its surface and accompanied the small dark green lily pads. The place smelled of fresh grass and rainwater. The swans turned to the hedgehogs and gazed at them with beading black eyes. Instinctively, they lifted themselves from the water, spread out their flawless wings and took off into the canopy, but not before flying into Sonic's view. Green eyes watched the giant birds fly off into the sky. "This is really something. It's filled with so much life," He turned towards Shadow. "How'd you find this place?" The red-eyed hedgehog replied without viewing the young one's face, "I stumbled upon it one day and I found how quiet it was, I thought you'd like to see what I found." "It's amazing." Shadow smirked and they both made their way in.

The soil was very fertile and clean. It felt soft under their shoes-the same way dirt feels after getting moist. They came across to looking down at the pond. The frogs licked the flying insects that would rest on lily pad flowers or cattails. Sonic moved his eyes around and spotted a fast moving river somewhat separated from the pond. It was broken into different sections by beaver dams that looked man made. The large log did most of the holding while large stones and long sticks made more cover space. The river continued to run quickly with currents of white. Shadow looked over to what Sonic was viewing. "The current gets stronger at different parts of the river." "You know, this place would be much better if I wasn't surrounded by so much water."

The ultimate life form laughed, "How are you terrified of water?" "It makes me uncomfortable and it makes me slow." "I see." He looked around with inspired eyes, "Well how does mud soothe you?" "I really don't mind act-" The black hedgehog quickly gathered up a handful of soft earth in his left hand. The dirt in his hand resembled crumbs that would fall endlessly from having too much to handle. Pieces of dirt dripped. "Then you won't mind this!" As he said the quote, he waved his hand upward and smacked his hand towards Sonic and he smeared the dark dirt on Sonic's face. The blue looked at him in shock. But he quickly recognized what Shadow wanted to do. This was not going to be clean. He used the back of his hand to wipe of the dirt from his eyelids, "You're on!" he exclaimed.

The heroic hedgehog quickly jolted onto Shadow. It brought him to the ground. Their bodies rolled along the soft dirt that started to smear their backs. They began to wrestle in the mud; shoving each other's faces into it and making each other do other daring tactics. The laughed at the process and were soon covered all over. Yet, that gave them no reason to stop. All that laid visible was their eyes, but even those were slightly dirty. "Had enough?" the hero would ask. Shadow nodded as they continued to through each other onto the ground and play with muddy sticks. Around the time when their ears were nearly clogged with the moist earth, they decided it was seriously enough. Both faced each other with heavy breathing and a serious urge to need a shower.

"Let's go rinse this off before it dries up." The black hedgehog agreed. They decided to rinse off in the river's steep waters. Different fractions of the water had different levels in depth. They walked into a part where the water was up to their calves. As their limbs moved into the clear water, the sludge spread across and moved along with the current as the brown fled from their legs. They rubbed the dirt off from their legs. More dirt began to submerge and rise over the water as Shadow sat down to cleanse the rest. He rubbed off the dirt from his upper torso and head. Sonic hesitated to imitate the same technique, but he did so anyway.

Unlike Shadow however, he couldn't find the courage to submerge his head into the water. He watched as the ebony one removed the last bits of dirt off his body. Red eyes looked upon a staring face. "What?" Green eyes looked back into the clear water. He shook his head and instead attempted to lean back and rinse off the dirt from his quills. He then cleaned his face. They looked at one another once more. "You have something on your ear." Shadow said. Sonic struggled to find it, so Shadow asked him to walk forward. He had to step over moss-covered pebbles and a few sharp rocks. He stepped on a submerged green rock and awaited as the other removed the dirt from his ear.  
After rinsing it off with water, he stood back up on the rock, but the yellow wasn't natural, it was slimy moss. He slid off and fell backward. His head crashed into the waters. His whole body joined, but quickly rose back up. His face was drenched with water. He took a deep breath and he began swinging his arms around. Water splashed. He was panicking. Red eyes watched as he instinctively tried to lift himself to the surface. The black hedgehog walked over the slimy rocks and he lifted the young one up from under his arms. The body stopped and quickly clinged to the dark one. "I've got you." He said. Sonic had his eyes closed. His feet were looking for a rock to sustain him. Underneath was a rock without moss. A rainbow fish swam around it before going straight again. He opened his eyes and looked up. Red eyes were looking down at him. Sonic widened his eyes as he was surprised to find Shadow's eyes staring down at him. His heart was beating quickly from the shock, however the soft beating of the striped hedgehog's heart was soft. Their torsos pressed against each other. They could feel the beating of their hearts begin to match. Both their heart rates were steady.

Their eyes met. Water dripped from their bodies. They couldn't tell what was happening, but the moment they were in was timeless and unexplainable. They felt a peace unlike any other-more peaceful than the mother earth's work. They enjoyed the beating of each other's hearts. A strong bond was forming in their eyes. Something about the way those eyes were made them feel powerful. It was as if an arrow had shot through the other's eyes and had hit a bull's eye in his heart. No thoughts came across their minds-only emotion. In Sonic, there was a sense of innocence and weakness that crept inside of him as he gazed into those crimson red eyes. Shadow saw through emerald green irises the innocence Sonic had within him. Both boys were bold and brave, but for the first time, their true selves gave the impression that it could be reflected through the eyes as the life force of the other being revealed it through perhaps… love?

In addition, as they continued to stare, they drew and closer to each other. The space between their faces was closing in. Their eyelids fluttered downward halfway and their mouths moved the bottom lip up. They drew closer by the second. Shadow stood on a higher stone, making him appear taller, while Sonic stood on a small rock of lower elevation. The rainbow fish continued to swim around the rocks. It spotted something shiny underneath one and decided to dive into it. It pushed its head forward to remove the rock that was burying it. The rock was grainy. Alas, before thou, Juliet could kiss thy Romeo, the rainbow tipped over the rock and therefore, tipping over the Sonic the Hedgehog back to the water. Shadow and Sonic phased out of the illusion. The black hedgehog lifted the blue one back to his feet, but this time, avoiding each other in the eye. They left the river after shaking off the excess water on their bodies. They failed to communicate about the moment and simply walked out of the forest without another word to each other. A bright light flashed from the dark trees. CLICK!

-Some time later…-

It had taken a while for the two hedgehogs to decide on what their next activity would be. It was still day out so there must be something they can do. After Shadow's plans, it was Sonic's turn and what could be more exciting than jumping out of the sky to start a race?! It seems almost suicidal, but not for this couple. Sonic the Hedgehog was a daredevil and Shadow was dead straight on not making himself look bad when denying a challenge. They were going to take a plane several feet above the ground in which there they to drop out into the sky and land onto the city's highway. But that was just the beginning. After that, the two rivals were to race through to the end of the road, jump down to the residential area, and go all the way down to the finish line that was only recognized to them as the entrance to city hall. The task may seem simple, but they both aware of the obstacles they would face and they found that pounding things or ech other to decrease their advancement would be acceptable.

"Hehe, this'll be fun!" exclaimed the blue hedgehog. His counterpart smirked with a red and black customized snowboard under his arm. "Hmph, don't get over yourself kid. This race is mine!" Sonic looked towards the confident one, he too held a snowboard, but of blue and white. "Don't get cocky, after all, I'm the fastest guy around!" he said with pride. "We'll see about that." They were walking over to the plane that was being set for the flight. Its bright colors of bee yellow and mild azure made it quite vivid in the gray neighborhood. A small fox appeared out of the cockpit of the plane, "It's all set!" the child said with a cracking voice. The black hedgehog wasn't aware that Tails would be the one to send them, but he found it understandable. Now, at times, the word 'probably' may be sufficient for certain questions such as, "Is it going to rain?" while dark clouds are visible. At times, yes or no added can create a reassurance. Such as to this question, "Will my child fail math?" Then the teacher says "probably not."

In a few moments, the plane had taken off. The two hedgehogs looked outside through the windows and watched as the ground appeared smaller and farther away. The Tornado was increasing altitude as time progressed and they were now at 18,120 feet. Clouds blocked the view and minor turbulence struck the plane. "Clouds... ya think their poofy pillows when a pilot knows they're cotton balls of turbulence. Everyone faced him. The fox noticed the silence and looked into his reflecting mirror at the staring eyes. "What?" he questioned. "You know, Tails, clouds could be real fun." The child was confused. "Why'd you say that?" "The shaking of the plane turns up the excitement doesn't it?" The boy laughed, "Good to know you're staying positive."

Blue eyes focused on the blue path scattered with pure white cotton balls. He pushed a button and announced with his same crackly voice, "We're here." The black one pulled his attention from the tiny city view, grasped his snowboard, and followed Sonic to the door. Just as the adrenaline was rising, something struck him. He looked at Sonic who was now opening the door. The strong seemed to have a hypnotic pulling effect. It begged for a soul sacrifice, a jumper to dive deep into the wind's ocean of air and swim in it until he/she found the hole that drops them all. It was very loud and raspy, so Shadow had to shot the words out. "Sonic! Do you think we've forgotten something, like landing gear?"

The blue hedgehog looked back and thought for a moment, he looked back and smiled with a gloved thumb up, "Probably!" the black hedgehog's eyes grew and was left shocked. Sometimes probably doesn't cut it. No matter the situation, the blue hedgehog made a free fall attempt, with his shoes positioned onto the snowboard. The wind picked the light hedgehog up and carried him away. The only determination of his survival was this call, "Wahoo!" he yelled. The black hedgehog didn't hesitate to follow. He ignored the precaution and he leaped into the wind's ocean.

When the two exited the plane, Tails shut the door and watched them. Red eyes searched for the blue hero. A familiar yelp caught his attention. To his left was Sonic making flips with his board while pretending to fly. The dark one smiled. He flew towards Sonic, who was now doing cartwheels. The devious one smirked and managed to grab Sonic's leg as it was lifted upward. He took notice as his leg was being pulled back. "Hey! What are you doing, Shadow?" he watched as his body lifted at the mercy of the ultimate life form. The next thing he knew, he was being flung off into the distance, but not too far after having been spunned around.

He recovered quickly from the dizziness and regained his stance. Shadow laughed as Sonic growled at the rude play. He began to glide across the sky towards the ebony one. He swam forward. The resistance of their bodies and the wind was getting thinner. Their elevation began to drop. The two looked at each other. "Give me your hand." shouted the hero. Together, they linked their gloved hands by holding onto each other's wrists rather than palms. Their shoes were still attached to the snowboards. "You ready?" Sonic asked. "You bet! Let's go!"

Both of them released each other after a minute of holding on. Sonic and Shadow flipped downward and used the boards as propellers. They spun around like how ballerinas twist in mid-air. They maneuvered through the sky by pressing their body weight onto their sides. Their altitude was dropping very fast. Now reaching at 9,612 feet. The small world was no longer tiny, but large, and it increased as height dropped. They flipped themselves over to an upright position. Their boards were under them with their graphic designs revealed at the bottom. Both hedgehogs wore cunning expressions as they surfed the waves of air that soon brought them to the road. Two boards made a plastic clash to the dark asphalt in the middle of the highway, avoiding upcoming vehicles and racing through traffic while skating at high speed. The race was on when the boards were removed and both had the competitive adrenaline to win.

Residents watched as trails of yellow-black and azure passed by in great speeds. Children pointed while parents missed the action. One boy was riding his bike back to his house, when the two hedgehogs were about to crash into him. The boy widened his dark eyes and pedaled harder to get away. Afraid of the impact, he closed his eyes and hid his head between the handlebars and his arms while he pedaled. To his luck, both hedgehogs leaped upward to avoid the accident. The young one looked up and saw nothing, but felt the sudden breeze they left behind. He blinked twice and continued riding. The trails curved in different angles and directions. Cars were parked in driveways and outside of garages.

The place seemed like a golf course that was packed with road blocks and hardly any room for maneuvering. Sonic had already ran through the residential area and was about to hit the entrance when he decided to look back. He saw a smirk on the striped hedgehog's face. "What's so funny?" he asked without stopping. The dark one advanced to the side without responding. Sonic looked back and saw a large pole that he was about to crash into. "Ah!" he yelled before running into it.

The impact was something the ebony one found hysterical. Our hero recovered quickly, but was left rather dizzy. His emerald eyes watched as Shadow was about to proceed to the finish line. The young one was not going to let this one win. "Oh, yeah!" he said profoundly. He sprinted back into action and leaped up and for Shadow; he didn't remember ever getting to the end. Because Sonic had pounded him at the end.


	6. Risks

Fear  
By: Shadowluz07  
'Risks '  
_The sound of pounding on the wall awoke the child in slumber. He blinked several times before seeing the light crashing into his eyes. The sound was coming from outside. He went out to see what was making the sound. The boy made his way out of the house by the farm and saw a man hammering something on the wall of the barn. The child made a frown and sighed. He knew what this meant when the man who sadly was his father, would pound new chicken wire in the small hole on the barn wall. It was settled. He tried to keep his eyes from watering by going back to bed. BOOM! BOOM! That was the sound. As hard as he tried, he couldn't stop the tears that always escaped from his eyes. It was almost a tradition, so why is he still upset about it? Perhaps since he was the only sane one of the family._

**The City**  
Concentrated thinking was occurring in the mind of a significant hedgehog that was lying on Tails' front porch. Amy, as much as she had a driven love for her hero, had kicked him out of her property for the time being due to his rudeness. The teenager didn't mind much of the move, but he did feel somewhat guilty of his actions. He already tried apologizing for being rude, but he didn't take back his actions. Perhaps this is why the pink hedgehog took the actions she did. The wind continued to blow in a swift pattern. When it had already blown past Sonic's face, he could already predict the next one. However, it was not the wind that had him thinking, nor the fact that he had moved with his best friend-it was Shadow. Something that happened on the previous dates seemed to have an impact on him that he hasn't been able to shake off. His eyes were closed and he tried searching as to what he was feeling deep within himself. He wasn't looking for love-it's much too early. It could be that he was feeling the tingling of interest. His eyelids flapped open when the mingling thoughts in his head collided. His eyes captured the view of vegetation below him . The feelings were familiar to him, especially when he remembered the day he was taken to the river. His actions were a blur, but he remembered feeling an emotion unlike any other. If it was love, it felt much different than he expected-or so his thoughts present. He lifted his body up to a stance. 'I've got to find out what I'm feeling and what If Shadow feels the same?' he thought. There was no resolution than to see for himself. Therefore, he ran off with the wind and disappeared.

This is when Shadow would be speaking to Rouge about his feelings and in exchange, the bat would be giving suggestions. However, this was not what was happening. The black hedgehog was standing over the roof of the home of the purple-winged bat; he too was thinking. Thoughts raced through his mind. He was thinking as to what had happened back in the river. There was a time where all he could feel was this magnetic pull that was leading him to the pesky blue hedgehog beside him. Whatever it was that was pulling him, he was eager to discover the emotion that caused this. Not only that, but he was beginning to find himself feeling stranger when he recalls the hero. Depending on his thoughts, his heart would pound a little harder. He rejected the idea of love-as did Sonic; therefore the only answer would be that he was beginning to pass the friendship line. 'I have to find him,' he thought with his arms crossed against his chest, 'I need to see what he thinks of this.' He jumped off the roof and started to pace out to the cement flooring below. As he ran faster, the fire below him turned on and the hedgehog found himself skating with fire.

Ironically, on the travel of the two hedgehogs, they were coming towards each other in fast movement. Both eager to see each other, they sped faster, unknowingly in the same angle at the same time. Soon enough, their eyes met on the road. Shadow intended to stop, but the feeling returned-the feeling of weakness and yet a filling of something else. He didn't stop. Neither did Sonic, who was also in the same phase. They continued to come closer, faster, and more determined. They couldn't stop!  
CLASH!

The two collided and fell upon the floor with their bodies over each other. Sonic shook his head after the impact that felt rather painful. He put a hand to his head and opened his eyes, "Eh, what happened?" his vision was a little distorted and shortly after, became better. His eyes caught the sight of the black hedgehog underneath him; he was still unconscious. He got off the ebony one and started to shake his body, expecting a reaction. "Shadow!" he said. No response. He shook more violently and said even louder, "Shadow! Wake up!" Slowly, the body started to react; eyelids were flickering and the head was tilting. Red eyes caught the sight of the blue hedgehog and soon drifted to the eyes. He too had a blurred vision until his full consciousness was given and it was at that time when they found their eyes meet. It wasn't the same feeling from the river, however, it was the same locked effect except they could feel the pull. It was no longer a thing that was just automatic. For once, they felt in control of their feelings. Unfortunately, even though their strength was in them, neither of them could find themselves pulling away. Something was drawing red to green and vice versa. What was this sensation? Their faces got closer just a slight bit-or at least Sonic's did. For the sake of the public and inner opinion, the lock was removed when Shadow turned away and made his way up to his feet. Just by them looking back at each other with blank expressions, they knew what they felt was within each other and yet they find out if the other was feeling the same way.

They were soon on their feet and discussing on what had just occurred.

"It's not for me to say, but I think we could be having the same feelings."

"What makes you think we are when we have two distinct minds?"

"That may be so, but didn't you feel something special when you looked at me?"

The blue one was hesitant in speech, but proceeded after a thoughtful pause, "Y-yes," he looked over to the hedgehog beside him, "Did you?" The black hedgehog turned away. He could feel the blood rising to his cheeks and it was somewhat embarrassing to know he was reacting this way. He avoided eye-contact until he could calm down.

"What makes you think I would?"

"Well, you told me that we have alike minds in some occasions like just now."

"Correct…"

The blue hedgehog tried to turn to see the face of his companion, but the ebony one continued to hide it. The teenager chuckled, "Is that why you're hiding from me?" "Hiding? Hiding what?" Sonic nodded and placed his head high and facing the road ahead. Shadow moved kept his head down, for the blood was slowly lowering back down. It seemed every time Sonic cold create emotions of tension, the blood would rise again. "I was thinking, perhaps we're getting to the point of liking each other." Shadow looked to Sonic who unfortunately for him, was already looking at him. There was no point in hiding his flushed face and it really didn't matter since it seemed that the young one didn't notice. The black hedgehog replied, "That's what I was thinking." "So why do you seem ashamed?" "I'm not ashamed. I just… well," he started to recollect the words of his love guru to explain the feelings he was now in possess of, "nervous?" "Butterflies in your stomach? Heehee! You're much more sensitive than I imagined!" The dark one frowned, "Don't underestimate me faker!" Green eyes rolled, "What did I tell you about calling me that?! Are we not done?!" Shadow chuckled, "Let's just say it's my way of teasing you." "Teasing isn't fun." "I heard it's a way of flirting." Sonic laughed at the statement, "I guess that's the way you sweet talk." He stopped and turned to face him. Shadow stopped and looked at the now serious one. The blue hedgehog stood quietly with a closed smile and eyes that seemed to provoke an inner emotion Shadow was unfamiliar with. "I guess  
it's something I like about you."

This would be the perfect time for a kiss. One says a compliment and has the other locked in a state of heart-pounding nervousness. One leans closer and the other just stares or starts to slowly approach your face. A hand starts to come to the face. Who is making the move? Surprisingly, it was Sonic! Before anything could look 'wrong', a high pitched voice came into the scene. "SONIC!" From a distance, a small sound came from the bushes beside them, CLICK! The hand dropped along with the mood. Shadow and Sonic dropped their spirits at the sound of an annoying voice. The blue hedgehog looked to his boyfriend and said before turning to girl who was running to him, "We'll do this some other time I guess." As soon as he turned around, it surprised him that it wasn't Amy, but Cream. "Hello Mr. Sonic!" She turned her head to the other hedgehog and smiled, "Good day, Mr. Shadow." The black hedgehog tried to smirk a bit for the child. Sonic, on the other hand, had no problem faking it since any interruption would be better than the hyper pink hedgehog. He presented his warm heroic smile, took the girl to his arms and raised her into the air,  
"Hey Cream!"

He then placed her back down. The child giggled with her hands close to her mouth. "Where's your mother?" the blue one asked. The rabbit pointed to outward to the road she came from, "Mother is back home making lunch. She told me I could get flowers." She then placed one of her small hands into the tiny pocket on her dress and took out a long strand of flowers of the colors red, blue and yellow. She placed them in the hands of the hero and smiled saying, "These are for you, Mr. Sonic!" "Awe! You shouldn't have." The hero replied. Shadow did nothing but stare. Cream looked to Shadow and frowned, "I'm sorry, Mr. Shadow, I would have given you some too if I knew you were coming." "No need to worry." Sonic told the rabbit, "He probably wouldn't want them anyway." "Hmph! Your speculation is partially true." "Now why would the ultimate life form be interested in flowers?" "It's a gift." "Since when are you compellingly nice enough to accept gifts?" he asked. Luckily, saved by the calling of the rabbit's mother, the child said her goodbyes and left, leaving the two hedgehogs back to being alone.  
Sonic scratched his left ear and snickered, "Ah, kids, " he turned to Shadow, "So, back to us… I was wondering that perhaps if we are starting to like each other or something, shouldn't we be in a more_private_ place?" "Private, eh?" The dark one smirked in his mischievous mind, "I like where you're going with this." Sonic laughed, "Let's not get out of hand, Shadow! I know this one place we could go." Sonic snickered and ran off with Shadow following. The one in the bushes drifted outward to follow them.

Meanwhile, several distances away, Tails was blushing mildly after having made a short leakage to Amy about things he heard, "Don't get the wrong image, I'm not even sure if it's true!" 'How can you be so disgusting?!" A newspaper wacked him on the side of his head,

"Ow! I'm not insinuating anything! I am just telling you what I heard and saw."  
"You really think he'd be capable of that?!"  
"You know Sonic. He's unpredictable. I think you shouldn't worry though, I mean, he isn't the dating type either."  
"Neither does he go that way!"  
"I wouldn't agree on that…"  
"What makes you say otherwise?"  
The fox didn't answer. "Tails?" No response. She sighed, "Alright! What are you hiding?"  
"Have you been getting strange mail in your mailbox?"  
"No. Why?"  
"Well, some anonymous sender has been sending me things that make me think otherwise. I don't trust photos that can't be edited like Polaroid."  
"Is someone sending you things that made you come all this way to explain to me that Sonic, is well, gay because of some guy who could have possibly made them falsely?!"  
"Perhaps you should see them for yourself."

Tails reached into his twin tails and nervously removed them and made his way to the pink hedgehog. Amy, as impatient as she was, snatched the photos from the youngster's hand and placed them in her face. The photographs revealed several different things, but one thing in common: Sonic and Shadow; alone. Her eyes widened at one in specific and worse than the rest. This one had Sonic and shadow, at their moment of trance during the date at the river. The girl felt a sharp jabbing in her throat and chest. She looked at the angle of their eyes and she could see something was happening between the two. Her eyes began to water; she dropped the photograph and hammered it down with her foot. Out of her frustration she dropped down on her knees and let out a scream, crying out, "THIS ISN'T TRUE!" "That's what I said, but-" "Who cares what you thought! Sonic- he can't- he wouldn't…" The twin-tailed fox tried to bring her to her feet, but the girl only shoved him away. Her green eyes gazed upon the photograph meanwhile Tails tried to raise the mood, "Even if it was a lie, why would someone do this?" Amy's temper rose, but she didn't bother to answer, so Tails continued, "Literally, there must be some explanation! Perhaps someone is doing this as a joke." "Are you?" Amy at last replied, but kept her eyes focused. "I wouldn't show you this if I was joking. I don't joke about this and you know that. I wasn't even planning on show it to you." Amy took her hands to the photo on the floor and started shredding it apart. "If they think that can make a fool out of me, they'll have to think twice! Sonic is MINE!" Once the paper was nothing but pieces, the pink one scurried off perhaps to shed out the rest of her tears. Meanwhile, Tails looked at the mess and turned all the back faced pieces upward, then arranged them in order to see the final picture. Blue eyes glared at the ripped picture, but made no comment in his mind.

"Catch me if you can!" hollered out the blue hedgehog as he left a trace of blue light. The black hedgehog was behind the hero, trying to follow the same path. "This terrain is very difficult to go through, especially with such a slim road!" Green eyes looked back, "What's the matter, too much for ya?" The hero sped up more, but only made the dark one raise his speed until he was aligned with him. Their eyes met and the blue one smiled, "Glad to see you caught up, slowpoke!" The black hedgehog smirked as a reply. Their feet carried them up the road to a higher elevation that reached upward to a high hill. Once they reached the summit, the red shoes stopped along with the red skates running behind them. Shadow looked to Sonic, "Why'd we come here? Besides for the reason of this being private?" "Well, at least here we won't run into anyone." Sonic snickered before bending his knees so he could sit down. The black hedgehog then sat down beside the blue one. Their eyes looked upon the sky of blue with puffy white clouds. The dark mind started to think for a bit, but it was Sonic who worked up the conversation. The young one turned his head and asked, "I don't mean to sound queer or-" Shadow interrupted, "You can't get any queerer while I'm around." Sonic scratched his quills nervously and chuckled, "Eh, yeah." He paused and then went on,  
"Like I was saying, I've been noticing that we have been connecting since this all started. To be honest, when you obliged me to say 'yes', I wasn't ready to say it. But somehow I managed to start feeling something from that moment. Did you?"  
"I'm not one to admit this, but I have. Yet, I will say that I have always felt this connection towards you and being with you in this way has really helped me grown my emotions stronger and throw away all of what was plain nonsense in my head."

"You found some of your feelings to be nonsense?"  
"Don't take it harshly, but I can't say I love you-neither of us can unless we know what it in fact is."  
"That's true."  
"I will say that I have a deep interest in you."  
"That sounds like something we can agree upon."

The blue hedgehog smirked at his response, then leaned towards the other character and looked deeply into the beading red eyes. Shadow blinked in confusion. "Now that we're alone," remarked Sonic, "How about we get back to what we really wanted to do?" The blue hedgehog tilted his head and moved his face closer to that of the black hedgehog. The charcoal and crimson streaked male watched as the teen made his way towards his, so he too closed his eyes and made his way to the teen's face. They had to get a bit closer in order to get what they were after. A gloved hand with a light colored arm extended, carefully pressed itself onto the facial cheek of the ebony one. Meanwhile Shadow instinctively hesitated in making his move my drawing closer and swerving his hand over to that of the cerulean hedgehog. Shadow clenched his hand to hold Sonic's and in the teen's reaction, he too got a hold of the offering hand without having to see what he was doing. The gloved hand on Shadow face was caressing his cheek with the gloved thumb. The finger was moving sideways and went faster each time they would get closer. Only a few more inches apart…centimeters… they could now feel each other's breathe and noses touching. The young one tilted his head sideways to make the entry when suddenly, black eyelids rose up and the ebony arms pulled away. Blue eyelids flashed open, his arms dropped down, but the hand continued to hold its grip.

Sonic tilted his head like a confused dog, "Something bugging you?" The dark one nodded, "Forgive me, I've just been thinking of something." "What could you possibly be thinking about that isn't us?" joked the blue hedgehog with a grin plastered on his face as if the interruption was not as bad. Red eyes looked up to green; it was difficult not to get lost in them, but Shadow made an effort to focus his eyes back to the floor. "I was thinking of us; of how we look in other peoples' eyes." "What does it matter how the rest of the world views us?" Red eyes looked back to the green irises, "Huh?" "You asked me if I wanted to be with you and I found a good enough reason to do so. I wasn't going to turn you down because of how people would see us. I know we're going to have to face the world with the truth one day and I recognized that the day you asked me. Shadow, I want us to be together." The grip from Sonic's hand tightened,

"You made me realize how happy I can be with someone who shares so much with me. I don't mind doing anything with you publicly; heck, I sleep on the roof for crying out loud! I'm not ashamed of what we have here and if my friends are the guys I've known them to be, they'll understand."

"So, if you don't mind people seeing us together, why'd you bring me here?"

"I would have kissed you right there where we were, but we were interrupted. I was thinking this place would be better since no one's around to take our attention apart," the blue one chuckled, "at least, not visibly, ha-ha." "Well, it was a concern I've been having that's all."

Sonic took his unoccupied hand and reached for Shadow's empty one, "Well, now you know there's nothing to worry about." He took his mate's hand and clenched it with his own. Suddenly, Shadow found an excuse to discontinue, "Sonic," he started. "Yes?" the other replied. "Why didn't you run away? You're quite fearful with Amy that I assumed you'd reject me; so why didn't you?" Sonic paused and pondered a bit, then responded,

"Amy's complicated, somewhat conceited, and she can't do many of the things we can do. You didn't come at me like a moving comet and crash land in my face saying you wanted me as your husband you know?"

"Oh."

"Now, where were we?"

Before Sonic could make another attempt for the kiss, Shadow moved his head away and said, "Sonic.." The hero inwardly felt annoyed, "Yes, Shadow?" "Promise me you'll savor our moment together." The hero smirked, saying, "If you promise that you'll do the same." The eyes of both hedgehogs met once again, but this time, there was nothing holding them back. It didn't take long for this one to go through. Like magnets, their eyes brought both hedgehogs closer together until their noses were against each other and their arms were around each other. The hedgehogs closed their eyes and tilted their heads in opposite directions. Their hearts were pounding and the anxiety was eating them both alive. While the blue hedgehog begged no further interruptions in his mind, all Shadow could focus on were the white bat's instructions, "Caress, bring him closer, but be patient, and close your eyes." It was difficult for the black hedgehog to keep his eyes closed and not being able to see if Sonic had leaned the same direction or whether or not he might caress the wrong body part. To his surprise, however, Shadow couldn't hear the white bat's voice in his head anymore. The following impact made his thoughts go completely blank. A strange sensation was coming from his muzzle and it felt… wonderful? It was as if a sharp current had rushed through his body and in this deep excitement, he opened his eyes to see where it was coming from. 'Oh wow,' He thought, 'so, this is what a kiss feels like.'  
Shadow could feel the grip on his lips by those of Sonic as he tried to enforce a lip-lock. The sensation was shocking enough that the only entire action dark one could do was go along with it. It wasn't anything like what most books describe it, with a taste. In fact, it was actually tasteless and indescribable. Shadow could feel his heart beat slowly down now that he had finally kissed Sonic, but the excitement drove his heart back to beating a little more than usual. The sensation of colliding and swerving lips of the hedgehogs seemed almost magical and unbelievable. Shadow almost smiled and said something, but the hero interrupted his thought, "That was… intense." The anti-hero blushed madly. Sonic noticed and laughed, "Aha! You're blushing!" Shadow looked away,

"I'm not."

"Are too!"

"Am not!"

"Are too!"

"Ugh! Whatever!" Shadow finally surrendered, but didn't look back at Sonic. This worried the blue hedgehog, "Shadow?" The black hedgehog replied with his head refusing to change position,

"What?"

"You okay?"

"Hmph!"

"Are you really going to get mad after our first kiss?"

The black hedgehog turned his head to face the blue hedgehog and grinned. In a split second, Shadow pounced on the hero and snatched a surprise kiss. Their arms link over each other's shoulders and lips were suppressed over each other. When they separated, the hero smiled, "That was strange of you." The dark counterpart looked at the hero with gaga eyes. He didn't say anything, instead he passed his hand through cerulean quills. "Mind if we left somewhere more remote?" "Remote?" The younger hedgehog tilted his head in confusion.

-A Run Later in Downtown Station Square—  
The restaurant was filled with a red interior walls and carpet. Each table had a black tablecloth over it, a floral centerpiece, and a rose on a few others. The chairs were elegantly carved in swirls of dark maple. After being registered in, the male couple sat in their designated seats. The teen moved his chair forward towards the table and moved his sight to adult, "This place on your budget?" They stood across from each other, smiling; of course Shadow's was more dull,  
"It's a special occasion."

"This is a really elegant place you picked out, how did you get to afford it?"

"I have my connections."

Sonic crossed his arms at Shadow's response, "Sure." Then something hit him that made him place his light colored arms down to his sides,  
"Now, wait a minute… we're in a restaurant."

"And?"

"Since when do you eat food?"

"I don't, but I will for our sake; I want to adjust to the occasion for once. Perhaps I might enjoy it."

"Let's hope."

A moment later, a male brown dog in a well suited manner came forward with a peaceful walk, "Hello, May I assist you two with a beverage?" he said. The hedgehogs could smell the Bleu de Chanel that he was scented with. The scent of the cologne was somewhat overpowering to them. It was hard for the males not to acknowledge it. The hero looked to dark counterpart and smiled with lips shut, "I'm guessing you've got your lines for this part right?" Red eyes widened and his face reddened very lightly. He hoped Sonic wasn't aware that his next actions would be from a script. He tried to not act upon the thought presented before him and instead looked to the flapped eared dog, "Yes, grant us a bottle of your finest wine." The waiter bowed his head in assurance and respect to his command, "I shall return shortly with your request. Meanwhile, please take a look at our menu." "Will do!" Sonic added before the dog departed. The hedgehogs moved their heads to see the menu that stood beside the centerpiece of the table.

"Whoa! Some of these things are in French!"

"No! really?!"

"I would have imagined this being in English, not French. Look, even the guy who attended us was speaking English!"

"Obviously."

"I don't get you."

"Shut up and pick what you want."

Shadow felt somewhat hurtful having said that. It wasn't inscribed in the script. "That was romantic." Sonic said sarcastically. "Well, you haven't been the most tolerant." The hero pouted, but then dropped back to neutral seeing now that the waiter was returning. The dog placed two glass goblets on the table and opened the bottle of wine, pouring the beverage into the glasses. Green eyes gazed over the name of the bottle in which there was no point in trying to figure out the name since it was in a bloody foreign language! The glasses were soon filled with dark red wine about midway. The brown paw placed the bottle beside the centerpiece and retreated the hand back to his side. The other paw reached into his apron's pocket and took out a notepad with a pen attached to the side. The opposite paw went for the pen and arranged itself to write. "Are you ready to order?"

The hero went first, "Well, I'll have the…" he said as he read the card and made a quick decision, "a steak with _frits _" "Do you even know what _frits_ are?" Shadow questioned in a whisper. Sonic smiled and gladly said, "Nope, but it has steak so it's gotta be good! Besides that's stuff is expensive and since you're with the checkbook, I'm all at it!" Shadow sighed. The waiter continued to write down the order, then turned to the black hedgehog, "And what would you like sir?" Sonic quickly responded, "You should get this guy something easy to chew on, it's his first time eating-" "Sonic!" the dark one snarled. The more vibrant hedgehog simply placed himself away and smiled. The waiter, taking it as a first-time customer, tried to think of something to say, "Well, we do have escargot." "What's that?" Sonic asked. The dog turned to the hedgehog, "Cooked snails." "EW! That's edible?!" Shadow nodded in the background with disbelief that the blue hedgehog was truly acting this way. "Sonic, would you please, PLEASE, shut your mouth!" The hero ignored the counterpart's request, but thankfully dropped the jokes, "Just double my order for him. Oh, and can I get a sample of those escarg things?" "Yes, and they're pronounced es-car-goat." "Right." With that, the dog wrote down his notes and left.

Sonic turned back to Shadow, who looked displeased. "Something bothering you?"

"No."

"Sure. What's up?"

"Nothing, it's just you completely went all childish."

"Awe, I was just teasing you."

"…Why are you holding my hand?"

"Because I want you to know that I was just playing and besides, it's like I said before, I don't mind being with you in public, we like each other and nothing else should matter."

"I'd never thought I'd say this, but I think you're right."

Sonic moved his hands over Shadow's and caressed them softly. He winked at the black hedgehog, making him blush a little. "Wow, I never noticed how easily you blush." "I-I'm blushing?" Shadow questioned as he examined his face with the reflection of the napkin holder. "Sure you are," A gloved hand with a light colored wrist reached for the face of the opposite hedgehog and caressed his facial cheek. He had never felt the feeling he was feeling now-neither of them did, but whatever it was, it was making Sonic at very romantic. "Not like there's anything wrong with it, though." Shadow smirked and took Sonic's hand off his face, but didn't release the younger one's hand, "You really don't mind being with me?" "Why are you so insecure? You should be secure since I didn't look for an excuse to not come here." A figure in the back stared from the window, with no one watching him. It was there that he took the next shot, CLICK! Shadow looked down from the emerald eyes and responded, "I guess you're right."

Alas, when Sonic and Shadow perked their ears on the sound incoming of the waiter, the hands departed not because of the relationship, but simply to take the plates from the dog. The waiter assisted on putting down large plates of steak and fries. The waiter then said a few words before departing. Shadow stared at the strange meal between the main courses. The snails were nowhere to be found so he figured they were inside the shells. Red eyes looked up, "Why'd you order a sample of this again?" "I wanted to see which one of us would dare try it!" Sonic smiled. Shadow rolled his eyes and reached for the glass of wine. He poured it down his throat and coughed a bit. "You okay?" Sonic questioned. Shadow nodded, "Yes. I just didn't expect it to be so strong and swallowing isn't exactly easy either. Sonic decided to try it out as well. He reached for his glass and took a small sip of the beverage only to find himself making a sour face before passing it down his throat, "Man, that's bitter!" He shook his head to reduce the shock and placed the cup back to its original spot. Shadow didn't pay much attention to his reaction, he was busy examining the words on the menu. Sonic, eager for attention, smirked at an idea that drove past his mind. His gloved hand extended past his space and reached over to place it over Shadow's empty hand. Crimson eyes quickly moved down to see what had touched him. The hands came together as they grasped on another, eager for the other's touch. They played with their fingers with one another again, until black and blue ears caught the sound of a female shriek. The male hedgehogs turned their heads to see what had happened.

A woman behind them with a sparkling red dress had her pale white hands over her mouth. Her green eyes watered almost as if she wanted to cry, "Yes!" she cried. The man sitting on the chair had his back turned to the hedgehogs so the man's reaction wasn't visible to them. The well suited man greeted the woman in open arms and the woman happily embraced the man in her arms. Her curly red hair seemed to be wrapping around the man as well. "What just happened?" Sonic asked. "It looks as if that man proposed to the red-headed woman there. " "Awe, how romantic!" Shadow turned his head, "What?" Sonic widened his eyes and turned away from both the couple and Shadow, "I mean, that's pretty cool. The guy's got…guts! Yeah! Guts!" Sonic looked back at the black hedgehog who's only response was a nod and a face that said, 'Fail.' Sonic tried to think of what to bring up to change the subject, but as soon as he was about to speak, Shadow concluded that they should eat before the food got cold. "Right!" Sonic agreed. The next part would not be easy for the ultimate life form.

The hero licked his lips and clasped his hands together, "Mmm!" he said aloud. He then dove into the steak with his fork and knife as he started cutting the tender dark meat. After having removed a portion of the small dish, he inserted it into his mouth and looked to Shadow to see him eat. The striped hedgehog was seen as a bit hesitant. Sonic chewed and swallowed and directed with his fork, "Just take a piece and chew it until his gets smaller and softer to swallow." "How will I know when to swallow?" "You'll know when you do it." The striped hedgehog had to take the blue one's word for it. He cut himself a piece, slowly placed it into his mouth, and started to chew. The chewing almost instinctive to him and after a few seconds, he swallowed. "There," He said. Sonic nodded, "No, open your mouth." Shadow opened his mouth without question and closed it again with a smirk. The hero gave a false astonished look. He exaggerantly clapped his hands loudly, saying, "Congratulations! You've swallowed your first meal!" He made so much of a disturbance that the couples behind them and any others around took a questioned look at the happy hedgehog. The cobalt one made the cerulean one cease his applause. "Must you always act so childish?" he said with a annoyed tone. Sonic's only answer was a big smile that revealed his teeth and a tint of innocence. For once, Shadow wished he could replace Sonic with anyone but the actual faker, but then again, it would not have gone as far as it had now. They resumed on finishing their meal and wine for the remainder of the time. It was mostly silence between the two until Shadow was on his last piece of steak. Sonic had finished about three minutes earlier.

Sonic watched Shadow as he was about to place another piece into his mouth. The fact that Sonic was staring made him feel uncomfortable, "Why are you looking at me like that?" "I'm making sure you don't choke." The cobalt hedgehog put the fork in his mouth and started chewing. As he chewed he started to think of something he could tell the faker that would get the green eyes to stop staring at him. He tried referring to some lines Rouge had prepared for him in silent moments, but none were coming to mind. Finally, Shadow thought of something. His plan was to swallow his food to speak his mind, but that wasn't what happened next. In his attempt to proceed quickly in speaking, he swallowed too quickly and… The people turned their heads at the loud coughs. Sonic patted Shadow's arched back until the food regurgitated back to his mouth. "Ya see? I told you!" Sonic said after the coughs halted. The ebony one didn't want to seem disgusting by spitting the food into a napkin or leave it on his plate, so he did what seemed most reasonable and finished what he started. He figured it'd be the least unattractive thing to do. Sonic watched Shadow swallow and in response, cringed his face. Shadow looked to Sonic, "What?" he asked. Sonic, still holding his expression responded,

"That's gross!"

"Well I wasn't going to just let it sit there."

"Well," he was out of ideas.

It was mystery meal time. "You first," said red and black hedgehog. "No way! You first!" exclaimed the blue hedgehog.

"Well one of us has to start."

"But who?"

"It was your idea, so you do it!"

"But-"

"Nope! You go first. You dragged us into this."  
"I-" Sonic sighed. There was no way he was going to win this argument. "Might as well." He took the small dish and placed it on his side. He poked the shell as if it was some sort of alien cuisine. "Sonic, quit fidgeting and just do it!" said the dark hedgehog in a whisper. "Ok." Sonic continued to make faces at the snail and finally managed to pick one up. He sniffed it and retreated back from the smell. The dark hedgehog growled, "Sonic, for damn sake just eat it!" "Okay!" The young hedgehog examined the snail from all around and poked at what was inside._Guts_ he thought. "Eww!" he said under his breath. A gloved hand ran down a dark face of frustration. "For bloody sake! Stop stalling!" "Alright! Alright!" Sonic took the snail to his mouth and just as he was about to pass it through, he found yet another excuse. "Wait, can you do it with me?" Red eyes rolled, "You're such a baby!" Unlike Sonic, Shadow didn't hesitate and instead grabbed the other snail that was on the plate and held it in front of himself. "You ready?" Shadow asked. "Yeah." Sonic replied. "On the count of three?" "No, now!" A striped arm extended as it pushed the hand down the hero's mouth. Sonic drew himself back and forcefully tasted the snail cuisine. He made strange faces while he chewed.

Shadow snickered as he watched the tormented male. When the Sonic went for the napkin, Shadow protested, "No, swallow it!" "What?" "Swallow it!" Sonic frowned at the command. He felt the escargot slide into his esophagus with the mix of the complete taste of the cuisine. When Sonic finished, he crossed his arms and frowned at the now mocking black hedgehog. "Alright, your turn." "Wait." He interrupted. The black hedgehog thought of an idea and suddenly started clapping, "Congratulations on your first escargot, faker!" The people turned back again towards the couple and then went back to their business, seeing now where the commotion was coming from. "Very impressive, Shadow." Shadow smirked, but then curved his lips back to an emotionless expression after now having to do his part. He struggled to chew meanwhile Sonic stared, so he took his glass of wine to help ease the process of swallowing. "Hey, no fair!" pointed out the hero. "I could have choked." "uhuh! That's your great excuse?" "Pretty much," he paused, "Awe, that was horrible!" "So much for a classy meal!" Then out of the blue, Sonic started to laugh out loud. A black eyebrow lifted in the face of confusion, "What's so funny?" "You should have seen your face just now!" he cried as he slammed the dinner table. The hero continued to direct attention towards himself. All Shadow could do was helplessly smirk.

***  
_  
"Father?" questioned the boy. The man didn't turn to see his son, "What?" he asked. "How much longer are you going to do this? Mother's gonna find out soon and when she does-" Suddenly a hand grasped the young boy's throat. The hand squeezed tightly under its grip. The boy attempted to make some space between his father's hand and his windpipe, but his hands were too strong. The light of day past through the man's face, revealing cat green eyes, "She won't find out. Stop jinxing me, boy! Now stop causing trouble and get in the goddam truck or I'll make you my next victim!" The tight hand released the boy. The child didn't hesitate when he was freed. He hopped onto the shotgun and made sure not to eye his father. The man soon made his way onto the driver's seat and closed the door. The truck moved back and then went straight for the city. _

The dog returned with a total of their meal. Though steak and fries aren't exactly the most exquisite dishes they serve, it didn't stop the company from making everything and especially the wine, ridiculously expensive. Green eyes widened at the owe payment. "How much is it?" asked the black hedgehog. The blue hedgehog whistled, "I hope this isn't too expensive." Shadow knew the hero exaggerated a lot so when red eyes glanced on the numbers that were added, he was stunned to see how much each was worth.

"W-what?! This is bullshit! This wasn't even a full serviced dinner!"

"I think it's just a bit exaggerated."

"That's because you're not paying."

"Should I?"

"No!" Red eyes revised the numbers are recalculated them in his head. "Ugh!" He took a napkin and used the pen in the middle of their table to write on. Shadow folded the paper under the table centerpiece and luckily Sonic wasn't curious at the moment. When the dog returned, he unwrapped the napkin and read. His beading black eyes eyed the two. His eyes widened, Wait, so you're the ones who came on Rouge's request?" "Yes." Shadow replied. Sonic turned his head, "What?" "Oh, well this is very, unexpected." Shadow frowned speaking in a defensive tone,

"Well, what did you think we were?"

"I figured you two would be business partners, but I see that I misinterpreted the view, my apologies."

"Hmph!"

Sonic jumped in, "So what are we talking about?" "Right now? Nothing." Replied the dark hedgehog with a sly grin.  
The couple exited the restaurant with their arms linked together. CLICK! Sonic stopped and turned to Shadow, "You know, when I said the price was slightly exaggerated, I was referring to the price was worth the great time I had there. Thanks." Shadow felt flushed, "Well, it was fun, I guess. Though I'll admit it wasn't anything like I had anticipated." "No worries! It's like I say, the best trips are the ones you don't plan." The black hedgehog smirked and drifted his quills back a little in his state of nervousness. The hero smiled and continued walking. They then walked to turn towards a corner and a familiar voice perked the ears and raced the heart at the sound of her voice, "Sonic!" The blue hedgehog turned around and widened his eyes at the sight of the pink hedgehog that had dark stains under her faded green eyes…


	7. One Last Time

Fear

By: Shadowluz07

'One Last Time'

**Chapter notes:** ANTS: Enjoy dirty mouths? Then clean it with new Orbitty Whiteness! Or you can just shove soap into my brain so dirty words don't come out! Ha-Ha! Expect dirty quotes and actions in this chapter.

Sonic cried out in shock, "A-Amy! What are you doing here?" The girl moved in closer, "You know, I was hoping not to run into you for once because I didn't want a certain rumor that has been going around being true. Yet, here I am," she then crossed her arms,

"Standing in front of the truth!"

"What rumor?"

"Don't play stupid with me! I know about your relationship with the fake hedgehog!"

A dark eyebrow rose at the sound of the insult, 'Fake hedgehog? I thought we were past that,' Shadow thought. Meanwhile Sonic continued to seek a way of escape from the argument. "Amy, listen, I was going to tell you-" Amy interrupted, "But you wanted_ me_ to find out for myself didn't you?" More tears developed under her eyes, "You couldn't just tell me from the start? Look at you; you're already linking arms in public!" Sonic looked down at his hands, he wasn't aware that had even happened. The only thing he could remember was a strong feeling of happiness, which most probably leads to having him link arms with the dark hedgehog. "Look, Amy, it's not that I didn't want to-well, I'm not going to say I did want to because then you'd kill me when I told you, so I was…kind of… going to…yeah." Shadow unhooked his arm with Sonic. "Don't get mad at Sonic, I'm the one who's been trying to keep this from you," he looked to Sonic, "He's the one who actually wanted to let it out." The hero chuckled, "That's what she-" he stopped himself and cleared his throat, "Yeah, what Shadow said." Then something came to his head, "Wait, there's a rumor going on about Shadow and I?" Amy replied, "Only the recipients of the mailed-in photos know about it, which is only Tails, Knuckles, and me. Green eyes widened, "K-Knuckles knows too?" "I don't know how he's taking it since I only heard from Rouge that Knuckles received those photographs," she paused, "I have to say, I'm pretty sick to my stomach right now!"

"Wait, you said photographs. What were the photos of?" asked Shadow in a tense tone. "Well pictures of you two together of course," she scooted back, "Did you guys ever, kiss?" "I don't think that's an appropriate question to ask, especially in the condition you're in right now." "And what condition am I in?" "Denial." "Like you understand the condition I'm in!" Amy's tears ran down faster and her face cringed inward as her expression of anger and pain filled in, "I hate both of you! Especially you Sonic!" she screamed while directing the finger at him. Green eyes rolled, "Here we go-" "Don't you roll your eyes at me!" "Don't you ever get tired of yelling? I mean, I'd expect your voice to be sore right now." "Well maybe that's just because you've never had to, or could I be wrong of that too?" The blue hedgehog jumped and put his hands in front of him, "Woah! Let's not get ahead of ourselves! Talk about that isn't appropriate in the general public!" "Neither are two guys holding hands…" Amy murmured loud enough just enough for Shadow to pick up, "Heterosexuality is customary, not justified." The pink hedgehog turned her head to the side, "Well that doesn't seem to faze either of you." "Look, we're not getting anywhere with this, if we're going to be honest with you, then we might as well go to the others and explain this to the others. That way we don't have to repeat ourselves and we can work this out." The hero gulped, "Everyone, Shadow?" "Everyone who knows, Sonic."

***  
"Are you here to tell me the rumors are true? But, how?"

"It's very true alright. I know you might not take these right Knuckles, but I'm hoping a great companion like you would understand."

"I always thought this was all just a misunderstanding of a prank someone pulled through Photoshop."

"What's that?"

"Some new technology people use to throw others off on things that aren't true, or so I've heard."

Shadow added himself into the conversation between Sonic and Knuckles, "Everything okay over here?" The red headed echidna nodded while Sonic presented a closed smile and a signature thumb up. They all faced each other with Knuckles talking next, "I would have never guessed you'd too to be together. Or have the fact that Sonic would ever find someone to be with."

"Hey! Do I not attract more than two people to my presence?"

"I was trying to refer to those you'd actually acknowledged."

"Oh."

The ultimate life form continued to listen to the two talk until he found a moment of silence. "It surprises me at the very most that you're not out of the range of shocked." Knuckles replied, "Well you missed all that earlier. I'm guessing it's because I'm still processing it all." "well I wish everyone could be as mature as you," he moved his red eyes towards a yellow fox on the other side of the room, "Tails seems a bit disturbed," he moved his eyes back to look at Knuckles, "I don't even have to tell you about Amy, she's not taking this very well." Knuckles frowned, "Yeah, no kidding. Rouge doesn't seem to mind at all, almost as if she had already known." A small sweat drop under a nervous black hedgehog, "I'm sure she just has a knack for knowing things." Knuckles moved his eyes around to find the white bat, but she was nowhere in sight. "Speaking of Rouge, where is she?" Sonic answered, "I think she went to Amy to have 'a talk'." "Well, now that neither of them are around and Tails has taken enough of what he could for the day; I have something I have to ask you two about. Maybe I'm not overreacting about you guys' situation because I'm too focused on something else." "What do you have in mind, Knuckles?" asked the hero. "Did you two send those photos?"

Sonic and Shadow faced each other in the blankest facial expressions these two would ever see each other. Then aloud, both of them said they knew nothing about it nor had anything to do with it. "Then who could have possibly have known this and would've wanted us to see this?" The cerulean hedgehog shrugged his shoulders, "Beats me. I'm thinking Eggman." A red a moved itself to view Sonic's face, "You don't honestly believe the doctor's that much of a thinker. He would have wiped us out on sight and use one of us as hostages!" Sonic pondered at the statement, "Yeah, I guess you're right." Knuckles spoke next, "Well if it wasn't Eggman, then who? There's no way a paparazzi of Sonic would have known our location." "Nah! It's not like we're the only inhabitants in the wilderness," Sonic said in a sarcastic voice. Shadow continued to think as the two next argued about trees and houses. His thoughts processed the possibilities of different people, then something came to mind. Sonic put his finger in the air and widened his eyes as if he had just uncovered the truth of Shadow's past, "I know, it was the Chaotix!" The red echidna slam-palmed his own face, "Oh man." Shadow jumped in, "What if it's someone we haven't faced and he's trying to turn us all against each other?" No one spoke up to that. This was something worth considering, but then _someone_ had to say something, "That sure sounds like Eggman." Instead of Shadow putting down the response of the heroic blue blur, Shadow continued on, "That may be so, but it's like I said before, that couldn't have possibly been him. Even if he knows our locations and weaknesses." "Then who could have that mentality and want to get rid of us?" Sonic asked. "It could be someone we mad angry at some point." "Well we can't be heroes all the time, right?" Shadow nodded, "The important thing right now is to show no weakness. At some point the stranger will have to rise from the darkness and confront us, unless he plans to destroy us from the inside." "Or she, right?" Black eyelids lowered, "Sonic." "Yeah?" "Shut up." The blue hedgehog smiled innocently at the insult.

***  
"Woah! I would have never guessed we'd be attacked my photographs." "Pictures speak a thousand words, Sonic." "Hey, Shadow, even if these were for evil purposes," he flipped the photo for the ebony being to view, "At least they got your good side! Ha! Ha!" Shadow smirked and placed his hands on his hips, "Oh, so _now_ I have a good side?" "Yup!" "And you would know this how?" The hero blushed. He quickly turned his attention to the next photo, "Hey, here's one in the river. Man, we were dirty!" Shadow nodded while sustaining his smirk as he looked over the picture Sonic held in his hands after placing the previous one down. "Hey, this one's different," said the hero in a somewhat serious tone. Shadow bopped his head over his shoulders as he examined the rest of his pile. "Oh sure, what'd you find, more perverse positions of yourself?" Green eyes continued to stare. He picked up the picture and moved it in Shadow's view of the photo the black hedgehog was originally already looking at. "See? This one's not us." Shadow put down the picture in his hand and picked up the one in the hand of the hero. "You're right, this one has… Knuckles and Amy?" "Maybe that's why Knuckles was so concerned about the sender, Rouge must have seen this!" "I hate to admit it, but I think you're right." Yeah, whoever has been sending these photos must have tried to break us apart from any side of the group that they could. Even Knuckles and Rouge. Awe man, I wonder how Rouge took it." The blue hedgehog ran quickly over to Knuckles who was sitting on a chair alone in the kitchen. "Hey, Knuckles, we need to talk." "I prefer not to. I'm not feeling well."

He started to pull the echidna's red arm, "C'mon Knuckles! We can't settle this if you're not with us!" "I've seen everyone one of those photos, what is there to talk about?" Before Sonic could respond, Shadow was already talking alongside them, "You didn't tell us you were also attacked." He placed the photograph on the table, but Knuckles pushed it away. "What happened?" Shadow asked with concern. Sonic crossed his arms and listened along. "It was after Sonic had told Amy off. She came to see me because she didn't have anyone else to turn to. I'm not one to really talk about emotions, so it was difficult to show her that I did care, but I'm solid and it's not easy for me to talk it out softly. I was trying to show her I cared. I didn't think it would turn out looking the way it did." "Well, I don't blame anyone for not knowing because, I pretty much bought it for a second-" The striped hedgehog punched the hero. "Ow!" The hero looked at him with a confused face. "Shut up!" the dark one murmured. Knuckles continued, "Maybe so. Real or not, Rouge didn't take it very lightly. I tried explaining to her the situation, but, she wouldn't listen to me." Shadow considered having him talk to Rouge, but Knuckles warned that it may not do good because she lived by her own rules and when she set her mind on an idea, she stuck to it.

After a few minutes of reviewing and telling insults to one another, Shadow went to talk to Rouge with the idea of that being the topic. Instead, the bat continued to blab about what happened between him and Sonic. It was only after two hours that Shadow was able to say what he wanted to say in the first place. That only took about ten minutes. The cobalt hedgehog returned to the hero, who was found talking to whining Amy. The hedgehog had memorized more lines and tactics for their next adventure, but now he had to wait for Sonic to finish, which wasn't that long either. As soon as Shadow presented himself, female arms wrapped around the hero's blue body as she cried on top of his shoulder. Sonic tapped her back and shushed her lightly until her crying ceased. Light green eyes lifted up to look into deep red. His eyes widened when he saw her grinning evilly. While Shadow didn't fear her, he felt somewhat uncomfortable of what she was up to. She started to caress Sonic's back as she continued to grin. He watched her mouth an 'I love you' to a blue ear, which made the ultimate hedgehog's blood simmer. As soon as he saw she was about to place a peck on the cheek of the hero, Sonic dragged Sonic by his arm and drew him towards his dark body saying, "I think that's enough of an apology." He then pushed the hero towards the door until they exited. Amy placed her fists on her hips and pouted angrily.

***  
(Yes, there are many stars in different sections.)

"Why were you such in a hurry to get out?" questioned Sonic after having been pushed half-way down the road. Shadow looked away, "Let's just say I didn't want the day to be wasted." Sonic thought for a moment, then smiled and replied, "That's good enough for me! So, where to now? There's not much we can do at this time of day." Shadow looked ahead of them as they walked outside the forest. "Not sure."

"Oh, so there's nothing special planned today?"

"Didn't you have enough excitement today? We just had our first kiss & dinner and we had to spill the beans because of some pictures of us, what more do you want?"

"Well, if you're not doing anything special, why were you so desperate to leave?"

"It's late and I wanted to spend the last moments of the day with you. I didn't want Amy to hog the next three hours we have before the next day."

The hero tilted his head, "The next three… oh, my is it really that late?" The blue hedgehog covered his mouth in surprise to seeing how much time had passed. "Yes." "We'd better head home!" Suddenly the hero posed himself in a flirtatious manner by flickering his eyelids up and down and squatting down just a bit and putting his arms over his legs as if pulling down an invisible dress. With a pout, he said in a female voice, "Will you take me home, then? It's getting late my dear and I don't think I can venture off from here. I'll get mauled by a bear!" Shadow crossed his arms and frowned, "Forget it, Sonic. You can go on your own." "Pwease?" "No!" "Then I'll follow you back to your place? I'm sure you wouldn't mind." Blue eyelids fluttered again. The ultimate life form rolled his eyes, thinking as to how obnoxious the hero appeared in acting. "Alright! I'll accompany you home." The hero withdrew his pose and placed in his heroic self-being, "Great! Let's gooooo!"

Once they reached back to Amy's house, Sonic thanked Shadow for the company, but as soon as the ebony hedgehog turned his back, the blue one called him back to return. "What?" "Goodnight." The red and black hedgehog smirked, "Goodnight." Then before Sonic could leave, the dark being called out his name. "Yeah, Shadow?" replied the blue hedgehog. Shadow stepped forth until they were a foot apart. Red eyes looked green curious ones. The eyes drifted left and right, following each other's until Shadow spoke, "Sonic, I…" "What?" "How are you going to get in? I don't think Amy's just going to let you in like that." "It's okay. I sleep on the roof anyway!" The hero grinned happily. The anti-hero didn't make a facial expression, instead he drew close to the other hedgehog's face, closing inches from his face, closer and closer. Finally, his lips pressed against those of the anticipating hedgehog. Black and red arms wrapped around peach colored arms as they embraced the company of one another. Strangely enough, Sonic lifted one of his legs up as he leaned forward towards Shadow. The two hedgehogs kissed under direct moonlight almost as if the moon had the hedgehogs on a stage and they were the main act. Then, as soon as it happened, it was gone.

Shadow withdrew himself from a pleasant kiss that had lasted more than what he had anticipated. They looked into each other's eyes and the black hedgehog almost smiled. They did not release their grip from one another. They simply stared into their eyes, examining the movement of each other's pupils and then zooming out by looking towards the other's face. It was embroided in their memory. A gloved white hand with a gold bracelet caressed the peach arm of the hero for a second and then dropped his arms to his sides. He looked down, destroying the mesmerizing eye-contact and said, "I should get going." They didn't talk verbally after that. The ultimate life form skated down the path while Sonic made his way to the roof. I started to recollect the events of the day, chuckling at the happy and fun moments.

Sonic's P.O.V.  
_Who would have thought Shadow could make me feel this way. I hope these feelings aren't temporary. Heh, if it'd known he'd be making me this happy, I would have done this sooner! Also, I could have sworn that a pair of yellow green eyes faded from the curtains. Nonetheless, I went for the roof to sleep. _

***  
(Credit to KRJ, BAH, and SR for making the first line possible.)  
"Tell me again why we're holding hands?" "Because holding hands is fun!" The black hedgehog still felt somewhat uncomfortable having his hand over the blue hedgehog's hand. He enjoyed it, yes, but it just seemed awkward walking down the streets of Station Square with an attitude that says, 'We don't care,' which in this case, Shadow really did mind. He didn't know whether to cease it or continue. He wanted to hold hands all the way, but it seemed easier when they were hiding it. When they reached a building with a name made up of three-dimensional solid gold letters and ellipse underneath, the anti-hero was surprised to find Sonic releasing his grip. He thought perhaps his companion had felt the same way. Yet it occurred to him as 'how could he' when Sonic loves being the center of attention. He watched him direct a hand in front of him. The hero grinned saying, "Ladies first." Crimson eyes rolled, "There is no way I'm a lady and neither are you. Why don't you go in first?" The hero shrugged his shoulders, "Alright then." Crimson eyes watched the SOAP shoes of the color red and white make their way into the rotating entrance of the building. Fire skates were the next proceed forward.

Inside the building was a window glass ceiling in which the sky was visible throughout the day. At the moment of their arrival, the clouds were painted over a light blue background from the middle of the day. Shadow and Sonic made their way walking around the plaza that was filled with several shops that sold shoes, hats, jewelry, food, etc. Green eyes moved around in search of something interesting. His eyes were caught to attention with the sight of something we all know too familiar. His gloved had reached over Shadow's and pulled quickly as the hero ran down the aisles of shops and quickly halted to a seller. Shadow withdrew his hand back immediately and exercised his wrist, "Warn me next time!" Sonic giggled, "Sorry." The vendor smiled at the hedgehog with wide green eyes and a face that extended towards the cart. "What'll it be?" Sonic extended his finger with excitement, "TWO CHILIDOGS!" Shadow crossed his arms, "You didn't _have_ to get one for me." Sonic looked to Shadow, "Who said the second was for you?" "Hmph! Well that was very unselfish of you!" The hero chuckled and looked back to the vendor. "That will be $2 or equivalent to twenty rings." "Right." The hero searched his quills then stopped. He looked over to his companion and blushed. He smiled nervously saying, "You wouldn't have any spare change on ya?" Crimson eyes traveled clockwise, "You've got to be kidding me." Shadow checked himself and managed to take out the exact amount in rings. He handed the rings to the vendor and in exchange, the vendor smiled and prepared to scrumptious chilidogs for Sonic the Hedgehog.

The happy hedgehog walked away after thanking him. Shadow followed behind him. He watched the hero devour the meal in a hurry. "Damn, you sure can put it away!" Sonic looked over his shoulder to look at the black hedgehog. He smirked and licked his gloved fingers. He then twisted the second chilidog around and around and with the other hand shoved the rest of the half of the first chilidog. Shadow nodded and murmured, "You're such a slob!" Sonic looked at the leftover chilidog, then at a moody black hedgehog and back at the sweet delicacy. He started talking to it, "Baby, you're gorgeous, amazing, beautiful, and one-of-a-kind," he looked to Shadow, "But I think you deserve to live in a better home." He sniffed and wiped away his false tears. He turned to give Shadow his valued prize, "You can have it, Shadow." The black hedgehog refused the offer, but Sonic pushed, saying how it took much of his heart to be nice enough to _share_ his lunch. "I recommend you keep it. I don't have any extra money with me and we agreed to go window shopping, remember?" "Really?" "Really." The hero turned away to sniff and wipe his eyes. "Are you…crying?" "No." "You're not seriously getting emotional over a chilidog are you? I mean, you already spoke to the goddamn thing!" Sonic shoved the chilidog in his mouth and wiped the residue off his face. Red eyes widened when the hero looked back at the questioning hedgehog, "Did you just shove that thing into your face?" Sonic grinned.

The two hedgehogs continued throughout the day viewing various kinds of merchandise. Some were on sale and others at regular price. (Which I'm sure everyone knows _that_.) Then a green eye caught an eye on somewhere in specific. The hedgehog smirked and dragged Shadow along by the link in their arms. Shadow couldn't help but advance at the speed of the blue hedgehog and just as unexpectedly he ran, he stopped. The black hedgehog panted, "Didn't I tell you to warn me next time?!" he said angrily. Sonic ignored him and instead pointed out a glass box underneath them that contained different types of jewelry. Red eyes scanned over the prices, "What do you know, this place has the ring number converted on here already. He looked back at the hero, "But why did you drag us all the way over here?" Sonic replied, "I just wanted you to get a heads up on how much you have to save up on me." The black hedgehog raised an eyebrow, "You're joking right?" Sonic laughed, "Well, maybe I'm getting a little ahead of myself."

"Aren't you afraid of engagement and all the other wedding crap?"

"It's not crap, Shadow? It's tradition."

"I know you're a strange hedgehog, but this is ridiculous that you dragged me all the way over here to look at some stupid rings! These are all way too expensive and secondly, there is no way I want to see you with a ring, it just seems…wrong!"

Sonic looked at Shadow, "Awe! C'mon! Then what are you going to propose me with?" "Who says I_ want_ to get married, especially you?" Sonic felt a slight crack within himself. Neither of them actually wanted that for each other, but Sonic was just being his kidlike self by adding pressure towards his companion. The hero's ears lowered, "Look, I'm sorry if you feel that way, I was just trying to make this more exciting. We've been walking for hours and we haven't really done anything, so I wanted to throw a joke at you." He looked away, "My bad." A silent moment passed. Shadow sighed, "Okay, maybe I was a little rough on the subject. I'm just as scared as you are about it. Well, not scared, but questionable." He raised a fist and looked up, "Because I am the ultimate life form and therefore I fear nothing!" Sonic laughed and took a look at the proud life form. Shadow looked back at the laughing hedgehog, "What? You don't honestly believe I am? I'll show you my ultimate power! Right here and right now!" "Hey! Hey! You know we are in a public area where people can get hurt if you start wanting to fight." "You're talking like it really means a damn." "Well, it does to me-can't we settle this later?" Suddenly a man came through their conversation, "Excuse me, can I help you two?" "No, we're fine." Replied the hedgehog with a smile, then getting back with anti-hero, "Look, Shadow, really, we can settle the score somewhere else." The black hedgehog didn't say anything. He dropped his fist and laughed. A blue eyebrow lifted, "What are you laughing at?" "I can't believe you fell for that, faker!" The hero crossed his arms, "Aren't we over the faker thing?"

Shadow continued to laugh evilly. The hero rolled his eyes and directed them back to the over-costing merchandise. "Is there a problem between your partner, sir?" said the man. Sonic sighed, "No, he's just a-" he lifted his head to look at the man. He was past middle-aged. He had a brown vest with a striped blue and white shirt underneath with a brown tie loosely placed at the collar. His face seemed sketchy and his mustache appeared to be fake. "Since when do I have to answer that question?" said the hero in a menacing tone. "No need to sir," replied the man in a defense pose, "I was simply curious." He tried to change the subject, "So, which one of you wants to get married?" Black ears perked up. Shadow turned his head and slammed his hands on the table with a threatening force and will to speak in a threatening voice, "How about you with that table after I slam your bald-ass head into it! If we needed you, we would have said something. Piss off you lingering pest before I actually unite you with your pathetic bride!" Red eyes looked into the weak soul of the man. His look was so intense that the man shook from having Shadow's eyes staring at him. His hazel eyes shook a second before the body found its way as far back in the store as he could go. The black hedgehog smirked, "That did the trick." Sonic didn't bother commenting.

Sonic looked down at the rings and found one that stunned his expectations. "Hey, Shadow, look at this!" Shadow looked towards his direction, "What?" "I want this one!" Red eyes gazed at the ring below. Instead of being enticed with the moment, Shadow nodded and said, "You're still going with the proposal crap? I already told you what I thought." Sonic didn't bother arguing. He drew himself away from the glass and smiled at Shadow, "I know, I just wanted to do something fun." He started walking the other direction, "C'mon! Let's see what else we'll need when we get married! Ha! Ha!" He started off. Shadow attempted to follow, but looked back to take a peek of the dream gemstone ring. The black hedgehog smirked, "If that's what you really want…"

***  
Sonic and Shadow trailed through the plaza searching sales on homes, properties, and wedding ideas, telling the sellers just how 'interested' they were in getting everything as soon as possible without actually purchasing anything or planning anything whatsoever. While Sonic was seeing this all as a joke to fool people due to the great desperation of fun he had, Shadow was taking note of the things Sonic wanted most. He wanted to be prepared in case he came to find he did love Sonic and would be able to make their lives one as a soon as possible. As Rouge explained it, "Once you find out who you want to have for the rest of your life, you want the rest of your life to start as soon as possible." (Sound familiar ladies and gents?)

"We sell all kinds of things for both the wedding and honeymoon. It looks like you two could have some fun with the stuff we have here. Are two the soft kind or rough kind?" Sonic and Shadow looked at each other then back at the seller. Sonic questionably responded, "Rough kind?" "Then I have just what you need!" He reached under his desk and pulled out a variety of items that had the hedgehogs gawking with the question as to how humans could live with such torment. Sonic, curious as he was, questioned the function of a slimy substance in a rainbow color. "That's lubrication." "For what?" The seller laughed and wiped his blonde fringes back, "You know, for when you go," he thrusted his hips forward and back at the same pace as his arms which seemed like he was humping the desk, "Bang, bang." "Oh, man!" he instantly dropped the item back on the countertop. "You're not used to this stuff are you? I can see it your face." He looked to Shadow, "You seem really quiet, I'm sure you know what I'm talking about. I'm sure you're very experienced."

Shadow turned his attention to the clerk. He boasted although he had no idea as to what the blonde vendor was saying previously by saying, "Oh, I'm very good at it." The vendor smiled, "Then I think this could help out the noob over here get accustomed to the master you are!" "Oh yes, I will own him so hard that he will see me as the ultimate!" "That's my man!" said the vendor happily as he presented a five fingered palm to slap on. Shadow didn't attempt to slap it, since he didn't know what to do with it. After a second of waiting, the vendor pulled back and said, "Oh I see, I'm not cool enough. Is that it?" Sonic added himself in, "No, he's just clueless when it comes to young greetings." Shadow defended himself, "No! I just think this bum over here doesn't deserve to get touched by me." The vendor smiled, "Alright. It's cool. So what'll it be boys?" Sonic chuckled nervously, "Uh, how about my partner and I discuss this later…" "Oh, your partner eh? Alright then, later!" The vendor waved goodbye. Sonic attempted to drag Shadow out of the way again, but Shadow pushed away and allowed himself to simply follow Sonic instead. "Man, I'd hate to have to think doing that anytime soon." The ultimate life form laughed, "And you're the one who started all of this?"

Suddenly, the phone rang. Shadow reached into his quills and took out what appeared to be a very sad piece of technological cell phone. Sonic looked over to see the black hedgehog examine the caller ID. "Awe, crap! Now what?" The hero made a confused face, "Since when do you have a cellphone?" Shadow looked away and pressed the call button, "Since I joined the G.U.N. though I prefer not to have one." He answered the phone, "Shadow speaking." The voice on the other side sounded like murmuring in Sonic's ears. All he could do is listen to the responses the cobalt hedgehog would say: "What? Now?"

"Muah. Muah. Muah."

"I'm busy right now!"

"Muah. Muah. Muah."

"Right this second? No."

"Muah. Muah."

"At what time?"

"Muah. Moa!"

"I'll see you then, Agent Shadow out."

He hung up the phone and hid it back into his dark quills. "Is G.U.N. requesting you back to them?" Shadow sighed, "Unfortunately, yes. I'm ordered to help out for the next 24,512 hours. Fun right?"

"So, do you have to leave now?"

"No, I said I'd go on midday tomorrow. That way we can still have a small time together." "When will you be back?"

"When my bloody shift is over. I can get back sooner if there's an emergency."

"Like if I'm psychologically unstable because you're not with me?"

A gloved hand went over a blue shoulder, "Are you sure you'll be alright without me?" "Haven't I been before?" The hero smiled, making the ebony hedgehog smirk back. "So, are you planning on something special tonight since you're leaving?" "Actually, I was completely unaware this would happen, but it makes a great excuse to bring up the surprise I planned in store for you." "What is it?" Shadow grinned, "You'll find out."

***  
** : Enjoy explicit content? Read. There's some lame-o stuff that has to come before it to start the mood off but you know, you can just skip to it like how I do sometimes. (ha-ha) I'll direct as to where it is if you don't like it too, but then again, why would you be reading a rated R story in first place right? **

It was nighttime now. The sky was cloudy and the moon was barely visible through a shining grey light. It seemed to be peeking in and out of the clouds every once in a while. Shadow's hand was covering Sonic's eyes ever since they re-entered the forest. "Can I see now? I'm starting to forget what the floor looks like," protested the younger hedgehog. The older hedgehog replied, "It's green grass as always and flat as how your face will be if you don't shut up and be patient! We're almost there." "Where are we going then?" "Just keep walking." They were forced to walk down to the location due to Sonic's lack of vision that was necessary, which delayed the timing of arrival.

After about an hour, Shadow extended the forearm of the hero so his hand could touch the white door. The hero's hand searched for a doorknob and instinctively, he turned half way and opened it. Shadow whispered in the blue hedgehog's ear to continue. They both walked in while the black hedgehog's unoccupied hand closed the door behind them. A strong sense of warmth quickly reached the senses of both hedgehogs. A strong smell came from the room as well. "Can I open them now?" questioned the anticipating teenager. "You can look now," instructed the elderly one. He withdrew his hand from Sonic's eyes and instantly, the blue eyelids fluttered and lifted. Green eyes scanned around the room. The first thing he noticed was the strong sense of the color red. He walked forward and noticed a fireplace burning wood, candles were standing everywhere, and bouquets of roses were standing in a vase filled with water. He then recognized the smell of being something spicy like cinnamon. Shadow quickly maneuvered across the room to come to a table that held a machine. He pressed a triangular button and watched Sonic raise his ears and eye level to the sound of the music exerting the CD player. The heroic hedgehog stood in awe and watched the anti-hero approach him. "You did this all…for me?"

Shadow smirked, "I'm a little embarrassed to say, yes." Sonic nodded, "Not bad. I can't believe you actually managed to pull off a romantic setting." "You should know by now not to underestimate me." Sonic smiled, and then turned his attention to the table that held the roses. "He-he I was wrong to mistaken you for the flower-type of guy. I knew you were the day Cream gave me flowers and not you. I think she's still scared of you." "I don't mind. Fear is something people quiver to at my stance! As for the flowers… I figured you'd like them more than I could ever." A gloved hand reached over the collection of blooming red flowers and picked out the best. The hero made sure he didn't prickle himself with any of the thorns and handed it to Shadow, "It's a gift, so I'm sure you'll accept it." "That doesn't really count, I got these for you." "Well it doesn't have my name on it." Shadow tried to remember the technique Rouge had taught him in this situation. So the black hedgehog hesitantly picked out another rose and handed it to Sonic. "I think this one's better looking." Before the hero could retrieve it however, the anti-hero recalled something. He knelt down with one hand over his lap and the other presenting the rose. Sonic blinked in confusion of the sudden change. Nevertheless, the hero received the gift and thanked him. Shadow replied while still position, "However, there was not one rose that could display nor resemble your sweet innocent beauty." Sonic didn't know what to say, so he smiled. The striped hedgehog stood up and touched the face of the cerulean hedgehog, "Sonic, forgive me for past transgressions." "What?"

Shadow quickly tried to translate, "I mean, sorry for all the bad things I've done over the years," he sighed and caressed the face even softer, making the hero blush slightly, "If only I had seen the great being you were. I was blind. I still am, however, but blinded by the great love I have for you." Green eyes looked down to avoid having to make eye-contact with the other hedgehog. He felt a strange feeling of nervousness and shyness that he never really had before. "Shadow…" He looked back up to meet a pair of red eyes in a way he had not recognized before. Sonic felt like he was seeing a completely different side of Shadow. It was a part that looked more like a soul filled with emotion that wasn't pain. Sonic had always looked into his rival's eyes before. They were always filled with hatred, sorrow, evilness, but ever since they had been together as a couple, he found a stranger in his eyes, even when they were challenging each other, he appeared more friendly, caring, and dare the hero say, loving. Shadow smirked when he noticed that Sonic had not moved a muscle except those in his eyes. Sonic barely noticed the facial expression the black hedgehog had. Out of instinct, he said without thinking, "Shadow, do you have a map?" Shadow was conscious of it all and unlike Sonic, was not hypnotized, but kept his eyes on green irises that reminded him so much of the grass outside. "No, why?" he asked. The hero drew himself closer, "'Cause I think I got lost in your eyes." The black hedgehog grinned, then slowly dropped it down to a frown. The hero lowered his eyelids and stepped closer to the black and red rival. The rival stepped in as well and lowered his eyelids as well. They faces moved in closer. Sonic recalled the roses and moved them to the table beside them. The two slowly made their way into a kiss.

Their eyes were shut. Sonic moved his arms around Shadow's collarbone while Shadow moved his arms around Sonic's athletic waist. The black hedgehog pulled the hero inward and the hero held on. Their mouths moved with the rhythm of each other's lips until the black hedgehog attempted to open his mouth a bit more to add in his tongue. He tried to recall which area would be the best place to move it into. When he passed it over to the other's the hero quickly widened his eyes from the sudden entrance, but closed them back to deliver the same way. Their tongues explored each other's mouths, tasting an unknown territory they would never find themselves doing in the past. After a few seconds of that, it started to appear as if the two were trying to eat each other's mouths through kisses and tongue moving. The action was so intense, one of the hedgehogs accidentally moaned. Then the other did the same. They moaned and kissed until the ebony hedgehog drew himself back. He didn't say anything and nor did the azure one. They only looked into each other's eyes and absorbed one another's presence and unexplainable sensation of simply looking right back at them knowing they care about and like you the same way you do to them. Sonic was the attempt to speak, but Shadow figured it was time for another activity, "Want to dance?" He released the hero from his grasp and revealed one of his open palms. Sonic let go of Shadow and smiled, "Sure." He took Shadow by the hand and allowed him to take him along. The songs that were playing on the track were completely muted to their ears while the two were mauling each other, but now they listened. The hero recognized the next track. He couldn't help but laugh, "The Titanic track? Man aren't you a charmer." The other hedgehog looked confused, "The what?"

"Never mind. You know how to dance right?"

"Actually, I was hoping you'd know."

"Then, I guess I ought to save you from your own demise."

"I didn't say I was clueless."

"Okay, let's see you try, faker!"

"Alright…faker."

The two danced to the tune and surprisingly, Shadow wasn't doing so bad. "Not bad for a beginner," said the hero. "I practiced before preparing all of this." "Where? You TV?" teased the teen. "You what?" questioned the older hedgehog. "Man, you are clues when it comes to the media aren't you?" "That's not true." "Oh, please!" The song played in the males' ears as they swayed their bodies left and right and moved their feet in ways that prevented them from stepping on each other. "I'm wondering if it's just ironic we're dancing to this," Sonic said. "I would have never known you'd know this song."

"I'm not really a music person, but I do have my movie buzz to a point where I'm not a sore loser who doesn't have a clue."

"You're referring to me, aren't you, Sonic?"

"What?! No! No, no!"

the hero lied, "I'm just speaking in general." Shadow replied, "You're a bad liar." Sonic frowned before making a turn. When he returned back to looking at Shadow, he was perking up his black ear to the sky, then went back to position. Shadow released his grip from Sonic's hand to open it up to reveal his five fingers. The hero looked towards the hand and stopped dancing. He couldn't tell what the life form was up to, so he went with what he guessed and laid his hand over the hand with a golden bracelet.

**Love can touch us one time  
And last for a lifetime  
And never go till we're one **

They felt a deep bonding forming in each other's hands.

**Love was when I loved you  
One true time I hold to**

They couldn't help but smile or grin at one another. They closed their hands together by placing their fingers into each other's slots between them. They went down until opposite finger tips touched the other hand's knuckles.

**In my life we'll always go on**

"I don't care where I go, Sonic. Whether it's a million miles from here or a step away, I vow to never leave you from my heart." Sonic couldn't help but feel a sense of 'awe' to his words, which almost made him cry at the moment. To stop the incoming tear, he smiled and said his own, "It doesn't matter where I go, Shadow. While I may travel many miles away or leave your side from any distance, I vow to never abandon you."

**Near, far, wherever you are  
I believe that the heart does go on  
Once more you open the door  
And you're here in my heart  
And my heart will go on and on **

Shadow looked to Sonic in a serious face, "Sonic, I need you to promise me something." "What do you want me to promise you?" "It happens all too often that a loved one watches their love go to battle and gives support through mail and contact. But all to many times do they come home finding their backbone, their support and moral for surviving the harsh labor with someone else. I need you to promise me I won't be treated the same. I don't think you'd leave me, but I need your word." "No problem." He said with a smile, but instead of the ultimate life form smiling back, he kept his frown, "Sonic, I'm serious. I need you to understand that your promise means more than just words to me. It means that you swear to it all. Can you do that? Resist temptation and anything can turn you unfaithful?" Sonic turned his smile to a concerned mouth line, "Sure, no problem. I keep my promises. I vow to never be unfaithful to Shadow the Hedgehog, my hedgehog." The ultimate life form smirked, "Not bad. I actually like the 'my hedgehog' part. Though, I think it looks better if _I_ say it." The hero smirked back, "Sure. You get all the badass quotes when that was clearly my line. Now, I think it's only fair you vow to do the same. I don't know if there are any good lookers over in wherever you're going." "He-he. I vow to remain faithful during my service with G.U.N. I shall not cause infidelity towards Sonic the Hedgehog, who not only is _my _hedgehog, but one and only love." "Shadow…" "You are Sonic, never have I shared such loving times with someone who I know can care about me the same."  
The hero nodded. Shadow released his grip from the hero on both hands and changed them into reaching over a blue spiky back. The hero greeted the embracement by reaching towards the ebony quills on the dark rival's back. They held each other in a hug and absorbed each other's love for one another. Shadow didn't want to leave Sonic alone; he had just grown a liking and bond towards him. He felt alone without him and almost as if a piece of him was ripped out when the hero wasn't around. Was that love? He didn't think so. Sonic had feelings quite similar. He didn't like the idea of Shadow leaving on such a short notice, but he understood and accepted the bad timing. In his mind, he whispered to the dark being, 'I'll miss you.' Shadow started to feel a cold remembrance coming out of his heart. It was rising and it was starting to feel very familiar. It was sadness. He wanted to cry, but he held it in and kissed the head of the young hedgehog, "Thank you. I trust your word." Sonic responded back, "I do too." "There's nothing I fear most than losing you, Sonic. You mean more to me than you know." Sonic didn't answer to that. He didn't know how to. He simply allowed himself to be rocked by the black hedgehog left and right.

**You're here, there's nothing I fear,  
And I know that my heart will go on  
We'll stay forever this way  
You are safe in my heart  
And my heart will go on and on **

***  
**ANTS: Now this is part where you guys make your big googily eyes and part way drool or shiz yourselves from reading dirty content. **

They fell over each other, laughing and soon dropped silent as they looked into each other's eyes. Shadow and Sonic blinked, realizing the position they were in. Despite Sonic being the younger and more hormone driven one of the two, it was Shadow who had the more perverse idea. They didn't smile at one another; all they did was stare and think of whether they should place themselves upward or listen to the sinister voice of temptation. Without much thought, Shadow drew close to his partner's face and kissed him slowly. Sonic wrapped his light colored arms around him, pushing his body down to deepen the kiss. The black hedgehog then placed his own arms around the hero's back to hold on to him. They kissed ever so passionately with the fire beside them. It was the perfect moment. Shadow challenged himself by moving his hands into a lower position from the upper back to the lower side. The teen seemed to chuckle at the sudden change, but didn't make much of it as he imitated the sinister hedgehog's moves. Shadow, eager to see how far he could proceed, soon slipped his hands down to the blue tail and just below there a second after. Sonic widened his eyes at the sudden change. He didn't know whether to stop Shadow or go along with it. He didn't think that Shadow would go as far as...well, as far as anyone could go with their partner. The hero simply looked at the black eyelids that remained closed but soon opened when Shadow noticed Sonic had stopped kissing back.

They looked into each other's eyes. Finally, Sonic spoke, "How far are you planning to go?" Shadow didn't reply instantly. He wasn't sure if Sonic had the same level of tolerance as he did. Shadow, was willing to go as far as Sonic would permit. "As far you'd let me." he smirked before kissing Sonic again. The green-eyed hedgehog felt a bit uneasy. The thing was that he simply didn't know how far he wanted or should go. He had previously interpreted how he'd react in this situation but now with the question on the table, he didn't know how to react. Sonic concluded with a smile, "Let's see how far I'd let ya!" He was taking a risk that he was very unfamiliar with, but risks are what he takes and has always been an adventure to him. What could be different? The fire crackled as a gloved hand went down from the blue tail, down to his butt, and then swerved upward to the upper thighs, then down again to the knee and lower thighs. The hand traced back up to the thigh length and back down again as he kissed with a greater passion. Sonic kept his touch to the lower back and torso. Shadow raised a blue leg over his own and did the same to the other. At which point their lower bodies were now closer to each other. Sonic moaned at the change of position. Black and red streaked arms went back to the lower part of the hero's body and caressed it slowly. Sonic moaned again. Shadow then moved his mouth down to Sonic's neck, next the collarbone, then down to his chest. Sonic found himself reacting in a very peculiar way. He was getting a sudden urge that grieved for something that seemed instinctive but unaware as to how to fill it. It was almost as if something was eating him from the inside...desire, but for what? 'Could this be lust?' he asked himself.

Shadow passed one of his hands back to Sonic's thin legs as other remained underneath the tail. 'I can't believe Sonic hasn't stopped me yet. Is he really considering doing this, tonight? Is he really that willing?' he asked himself. Nonetheless, the hedgehog was willing to do what the hero approved, proceed until told to stop. Sonic hadn't said anything and even if the hero didn't want to go on with this, Shadow was willing to respect his wishes. Sonic moaned at the great passion being thrown on him through Shadow's fragile touch and slow kisses. The black hedgehog, eager as ever, got an idea. He went back up to the cerulean neck and nibbled the flesh below his teeth. He sucked the skin with a quick bite from his canine teeth, making the blue hedgehog yelp. Shadow immediately stopped and looked at Sonic with an evil grin. The hero withdrew one of his hands to feel his neck. He frowned,

"What'd you do that for?"

"Sorry, I just had to."

"You could have left a mark!"

"Well, if I'm lucky, it won't be the only thing I'll leave you with."

Sonic smirked at the tease. Their lips joined together again and his hand went down to Shadow's hips. They closed their eyes and enjoyed the moment of them together and alone. However, Shadow didn't want to end where he was. So, he moved his finger upward and tried to fiddle his finger underneath the tail and slowly inserted into his anus. Sonic immediately detached himself from Shadow with his eyes deeply widened and in the expression of shock. Shadow stopped his actions and withdrew his hands. "I'm sorry," he said. The hero shook his head, "No, I'm sorry, you just scared me." "Do you want us to stop?" "N-No, it's not that, it just came so unexpected." They paused, "So, do you want us to go on?" Shadow asked in certainty, not exactly sure if the question should have been asked. "Sure." "Sure?" "Yeah." Shadow smirked and repositioned himself and waited until Sonic did the same. After that, Shadow retrieved the hand previously reaching for the anus, and brought it back towards himself. He placed it between his legs and lifted his body upward to pull out his hidden 'self'. As soon as it was brought out, it erected itself, making it harder and longer than what would have originally been. Sonic, aware of it all but not actually viewing it, grew nervous and a bit scared.

"You nervous?" he asked. Sonic looked at the red eyed hedgehog, "Are you?" "A little," he paused, "I never thought I'd say this, but I couldn't have picked a better place to have this moment with you." "Don't get cocky, you haven't had your way yet." Shadow giggled, "Right." Sonic continued lying down to await the next move. Shadow brought his other hand back and moved them over to Sonic's lower torso. He moved his hands slowly downward to raise the arousal Sonic would have when Shadow pulls it out. Sonic couldn't help but give out a deep moan when the hands reached the close to the area. "Ugh!" he said. Shadow quickly moved his eyes to look at Sonic then back to his hands. When he was about to take Sonic's 'self' out, the owner placed his hand over Shadow's, "I want to do it." he said. Shadow drew back his hands and watched as the hero reached for it and soon brought it to the surface. Red eyes widened at the sight of it. "Will this size do?" the hero joked. "Come to think of it, I think mine is bigger."

"Whatever!"

"I have the ultimate-"

"Shadow!"

"Yes?"

"Shut up!"

"Why, you jealous or something?"

"No, I just thought for once maybe we could not compete on something like, size perhaps?"

Shadow laughed, "I'm kidding, I wasn't actually meaning any of it." Sonic frowned, "Hope you didn't!" Shadow's expression went back down to a serious face after recollecting the situation they were in. He tried to follow his instincts as he guided himself towards Sonic's entrance. He lifted the lower body upward and moved the tail downward. Shadow suddenly felt himself getting harder and longer. He felt somewhat embarrassed than proud. Sonic, who was guessing what could possibly be happening; held his breath and awaited the impact. His own erection started and lengthened. Shadow looked up and smiled, "Not so puny after all-" "I said shut up!" "Fine!" Shadow teased and went back trying to determine the best way to do this. He took one of his hands to lengthen the opening, making Sonic arc his back a little and making the entrance also more visible. Without another warning, Shadow pushed his lower body forward and thrusted inward. "Ah!" the blue hedgehog cried. Shadow didn't withdraw, "What is it?" "Just-Just stop!" The black hedgehog withdrew, very displeased. Sonic moved away from his partner and curled himself up. "You okay?" asked the dark one. Sonic replied, "I'm sorry I got you into this, I'm, just not ready yet."

Sonic turned to him, still looking rather confused, "You understand me right?" Shadow didn't reply. He tried to absorb the reality that was slowly coming to him. His hormones were racing so rapidly, his body was emotionally thrilled, and his heart was racing, only for this to having to halt. Though it wasn't easy to do all at an instance, Shadow respectfully pulled himself away and hid himself back in. His back was turned with his eyes glaring at the floor. He was still trying to get himself off of the idea of getting laid. It wasn't so much the idea of it that was taking him time to understand, but the physical impulse he had to continue was what bothered him. The hero soon grew concerned as to the feelings of the dark male. He reached over his shoulder and drew him close to his chest with his arms around the dark shoulders of the black and red hedgehog. He hugged him and placed a light kiss on his counterpart's muzzle. Shadow stared into the glowing green eyes of the one behind him and smiled, "I never thought I would catch myself saying this, but I really wouldn't mind having you tonight, right now." Sonic blushed, "You know it won't happen right?" The dark hedgehog pressed his lips to the young forehead, "As you wish."

ANTS: Sorry for those of you who were left half-empty on your plate! As the piggy once said, "Ttthhhaaat's all folks!" Please review! Oh, and paid respect to all those who died on the actual Titanic. I didn't use all the song since a songfic part wasn't originally planned and therefore, not actually necessary. Track used: "My Heart Will Go On" by Celine Dion


	8. O Preclarum Custodem Ovium Lupum

Fear

By: Shadowluz07

' O Preclarum Custodem Ovium Lupum'

**Chapter notes:** ANTS: The chapter translates from Latin to English as "The excellent protector of sheep, the wolf!" quoted by Cisco. Another note, Mephiles makes his first appearance in this story. (If you hate him, I'm so sorry! I honestly didn't think I'd do what I did) His arrival is completely OC but his traits and behavior are all the same. He's still manipulative and against the protagonist. I gave him a mouth for story purposes. Don't worry, it's detachable, we'll send him back in '06 as soon as we're done with him. Mephiles: -_-

Sonic's P.O.V.  
Last night seemed almost imaginary to me, much like a dream. I've pinched myself to check that even arising from that evening had in fact happened. My eyes opened to the alarm clock with digital readings in red that said: 8:24. I jumped out of bed (literally) and ran out the door. I was greeted with the breath of fresh air. I breathed inwardly. Then I noticed something I hadn't before, how did I get back last night? Why was I actually in bed? I scratched my head at the thought and suddenly noticed a disturbance coming from my abdomen. It growled at me. I smirked and said to myself, "Well I always say it's good to have breakfast before running off! Just like how cars need fuel in order to run!" I re-entered the house, hoping Amy wouldn't wake up. Another questioned popped into my head, how did I manage to get here without having my head removed by Amy?

Original P.O.V.  
Sonic walked out on the front porch. He tried to remember how he had returned. He closed his eyes and tried to recall the former evening. Blue eyes opened, no recollection. The hero sighed, "Some memory I have. I must have passed out from the wine-wait, I didn't even have that much at all!" Then it clicked in his mind, the moment that disturbed him, but yet also made him feel warm inside. It was thought, the moment, the idea that Shadow was serious about their relationship. The ebony rival was willing to give up his priceless self to him… Green eyes stared at the tree in front of the house. He stared at the tree, but didn't acknowledge it. He remembered the feeling of nervousness, anxiety, anticipation, and dare he say it, fear. It even surprised him that he actually allowed their relationship to progress this far. 'To think, Shadow and I almost, ' Sonic stopped his trail of thought, 'Man, I've got to control myself!' He tapped his shoe onto the cement below his feet. The shoe took a nose dive for the ground twice and was brought back up until the heel clicked with the cement next. This repeated onward until the memories clicked a reminder in his brain. Sonic's eyes widened and he immediately remembered that Shadow was departing to the docks in the morning for his shift. Red and white shoes became a blur a second after the processed thought. It was 8:40 the last time he had checked. Shadow wouldn't leave until 10 o'clock sharp, that would leave the blue blur with an hour to conversate with his boyfriend about what happened the night before.

The shoes were no longer visible at this point. All that could be seen below the hero's waist were the blue legs moving at a quickening pace. It resembled the movement of tires on a fast moving car. He passed the forest, went straight downtown and into the heart of the city.

Sonic's P.O.V.  
As I moved through the busy streets of Station Square, I started to think about what kind of things I'd ask Shadow. I was thinking perhaps enabling a way to communicate with one another. That way we can keep in touch even if we're away. I shook my head as I started to realize how much I've changed in my thoughts and actions ever since Shadow and I got together as a couple. I've been finding myself thinking not only of my rival more, but how sympathetic he is now that we're together like this. I notice that his smirks are heartwarming and his tone of voice is different from how he talks to everyone else. He had a special tone…and it was all for me to hear and no one else. I shook my head once more. What's going on with me? I'm not… falling for him even more am I? Memories struck me from last night which only made me question myself even more. I blame hormones. I blame raging teenage hormones.

Suddenly a familiar holler drew my attention away from my complex feelings. I looked up and stopped. I growled and muttered at the sight of the hollering menace. "Eggman…" "Well, you look like you're in a rush my blue friend. What's the big hurry?" I pouted, "I don't have time for your pathetic robot destruction." I tried running through, but then a whole pack of robots dropped down from the sky, blocking my trail. The civilians started to run and scream for help as they sought shelter. I knew I couldn't leave these people behind, but I also wanted to talk to Shadow; see him one last time. I figured I ought to make this battle a quick one if I wanted to surpass this obstacle. I didn't reply to any of the doctor's remarks. I ran through each of the robots that fell and watched them as they crumbled down to the floor. My shoes screeched on the asphalt after my striking homing attack. I then looked up to see where the mad scientist went. He was laughing and telling me about how he has a bigger and better robot than the puny ones I recently destroyed. I was expecting him to forfeit already, but instead he brought it out of the sky. I wonder where all these robots come from. This one was ginormous. It was a robot much larger than I had expected. It had long coiled legs with red feet and a giant red sphere for the body and head. A giant eye in the center that moved with me with probably the weak point, I figured.

"Behold ! The Egg Crusher 2000! He will smite the city in ruins, unless you dare to stop him!" I growled. I knew this would take longer than I had wanted it to. 'I'd better make this quick,' I kept reminding myself…

I ran as fast I could to the docks, but already as I was getting closer and was able to see the sea, I could already tell that I was too late. I continued to run until my feet stopped at the edge of the bridge. I watched the battle ship sail away into the distance, a distance I could not travel. I sighed, "So much for seeing him for one last time." I could still see the people on board, but even then, there was no sign of Shadow for as far as I did see.

General P.O.V.  
-On the Ship—  
A man stood with his back against the wall of one of the cabins on the ship while smoking a cigar. Shadow the Hedgehog soon came out afterwards from the cabin. He looked around and went towards a human sailor. The sailor was dressed in a white uniform that was striped with blue on the shoulders and arm openings. "How much time will it take for us to reach our destination?" asked the black hedgehog. "About 48 hours to reach the extraction point, then I believe it's another day before you actually reach the war zone," replied the young sailor. Shadow nodded and walked over to the railing of the ship. He rested his head on his bare arms and looked across the open sea. He sighed and thought about how he had hoped Sonic could have made it to shore before he left. A military soldier found Shadow at the railing and made his way to stand by him. He was a tall male in his mid-20s who spoke in a Californian accent. The soldier looked over to see the hedgehog's expression; feeling helpless, he attempted to make conversation, "Not much for the sea, eh?" "I don't mind," replied the ebony one in a monotone voice without taking the glare of the view off sight. "Then, why the long face?" Shadow hesitated to respond, then finally found the right words to say, "You would think HQ would advise their executives much earlier than a day to obtain soldiers for duty." "Well, it's not for me to say. The same thing happened to me," the soldier turned his head to look across the distance, "Just last night, I found out I needed to come back." Shadow smirked, but only to frown again. The two kept quiet until the soldier managed to see someone at the docks. He squinted his eyes and widened them after clarification. "What's Sonic doing there?" A black ear perked up and the head rose, "What?" "Sonic is standing at the docks. I wonder what he's doing there." Shadow looked over to where the soldier was placing his sight on.

-At the Docks-  
Sonic recognized a hedgehog at the railing of the ship. His vision was blurry at this point due to the distance, but he could still make up who it was on the boat. He jumped up and down and started shouting out towards him, "Hey, Shadow! Shadow!" "Sonikku…" muttered the striped hedgehog under his breath before seeing that it was Sonic at the docks. The hedgehogs soon waved at each other with smiles ans smirks. The ship continued to move, so to catch up, Sonic and Shadow did their own part to run as far as they could to see each other, but keeping the sea as a barrier. Sonic ran back down the bridge steps, crossed the shore and stayed near the shoreline with his feet moving at the speed of the water craft. On Shadow's side, he ran down the deck until he reached the nose. They didn't take their eyes off each other, for somehow they were still able to make a strong eye-contact. The ship continued to set sail, so in the end, the blue blur bid adieu and ran back. The black hedgehog sighed, but kept a smirk on his face. The same soldier ran up the deck to catch up with the ultimate life form, "Man, what's with you two? You two gay over each other or something?" he commented. Shadow didn't look at the man, but he almost smiled and continued watch as the blue dot phased out from view. The soldier stood dumbfounded.

After Shadow left to defend a country in which he could care less about, Sonic and Shadow started to mail letters to one another. Sonic's letters held stories of his encounters with Dr. Eggman and those with his friends. Shadow's letters consisted of war talk, but nothing related to the tactics nor their destination at the moment. Shadow was the first to send a letter. He hoped that the address he remembered was in fact the correct one. Fortunately, for him, it was. As months passed, the letters became deeper with emotion. The black hedgehog input love messages about how he missed having him around and other things Rouge had pointed out as romantic. Sonic, in the desperation of trying not to sound like a receiver, tried to give off some love from his part.

_Dear Shadow,  
Man writing letters sure is a pain when you don't know what to write! Ha-Ha! I guess I'll start by apologizing for not being there at the base. I got my hands tied with a certain Egg-head. I pulverized the robots, but one of them grabbed a hold of me and I wasn't able to get out until helped happened to arrive at the nick of time. As soon as I slipped out of its grip, I plunged right through it and fled. I didn't stay to hear Eggman's irritating whining. I went to straight to the docks, since I figured I'd have taken to much time trying to pull free and going to the base would have been a waist of it; nonetheless, I made it too late. Did anyone ask why you waved at me?  
See ya!  
Sonic the Hedgehog_

Dear Sonic,  
Sonic, too slow? Degrading I'd say! Anyway, no one's asked me anything except for that day for when I waved at you. I didn't tell him anything. I don't plan on letting out for the world to know about us unless someone asks. I'm not at all concerned about it. How are things looking without me?  
-Shadow the Hedgehog

-  
Dear Shadow,  
Well, for me, everyday is different, but in reality, not much of anything has changed. The only news update I can tell you about is that hound that served us on our second to last date was a news reporter in disguise! I'll let you determine what happened after he found out what he and now the whole city knows. Since we're on the topic of us, I was wondering as to how I got back on our last date. It's been ticking in my head for a while.  
-Sonic the Hedgehog  
(What a boring and senseless sincerely!)

-  
Dear Sonic  
Hm… really? Well as long as he's not bothering you, I figure I wouldn't mind. The world was going to know anyway I suppose. As for how you got back, I used Chaos Control to get through you fan's house; knocking on Amy's door after everything would have been suicide. Amy's has enough on her plate already as it is. I would gladly inform you on my day in detail, but I'm sworn a secrecy on some parts. I was given a helicopter to transport a few troops from base camps to the war zone. Nothing's going on on our side. We've been negotiating on tactics and we're planning to head on out soon.  
SINCERELY,  
Shadow the Hedgehog  
(Content?)

-  
Dear Shadow,  
The media attention isn't bothering me to be honest, but what is are all the reporters wanting to interview everyone I know about the alarming news. You can guess how Amy felt about having nosy people asking her about her heart-break. She wasn't silent on her opinion. I just hope I can get through this in one piece! Another thing I've been meaning to tell you is that we're still receiving suspicious photos in the mail. They're not of us, but of everyone else and Rouge has been getting hysteric about it. I can tell she wants to believe Knuckles, but I guess she'd rather use her head than her heart. I hope it goes well over there!  
Yes, I did notice your exaggerated sincerely.

Sincerely,  
Sonic

-

Dear Sonic,  
Sorry for not writing to you right away. It didn't go so well for us today. We were ambushed and only about a quarter of our troops escaped. I managed to send the enemy flying back to their side of the field, even though this is their territory-their battlefield is everywhere. I can't wait to blast those bastards away again! Those soldiers who have gotten close to their comrades buried them and built crosses over their graves and wept over the tombs. I watched them all grieve, every one of them. I don't get too close to anyone. Luckily for myself, I have a higher chance of surviving than the humans and that's why I'm in charge of the more complex situations which only translate as challenging. Still, it isn't something I enjoy seeing. Now Rouge is one to know about how to handle situations she comes into contact with. Which makes me question if we're on the same page, you're not, experienced are you?  
-Shadow

-

Shadow,  
I feel terrible that you have to witness that. It isn't easy seeing people suffer and not being able to do anything, or at least that's how I see it. I don't know if what Rouge is doing is right, but you're right, if it's justified towards her, I should probably let it be. However, I think that whomever is taking these photos is asking for trouble! Tails and I have been on the trail of the mysterious photographer and we're hoping on finding out just who this guy is.  
Err, that's somewhat of a personal question, but I think it's safe to let you know that I am not. If I haven't had time with anyone, what makes you think I'd have time for that? I don't believe you are either, seeing how you were so committed to me that other night.  
-Sonic  
P.S. What stopped you that night?

-

Sonic,  
I see our formality has flown out the window! I think I'll stop bringing up my reality and focus on what I want to be real and that's knowing you're still with me even at this thousand mile distance. I hope you find the guy who's been snapping pictures. I blame the hound! That dog has been sniffing around places he shouldn't be placing his snout in! Ha-Ha!  
It's good to know neither of us have done so, it makes us equal. What stopped me last night was the fact that I was using my head. I wanted you, Sonic. I have never desired someone as directly as I have with you. I figured that if you weren't ready, I'd wait until you were so I could not be impeded by all of you and not a desperate hedgehog. If we were going to go on with that, I wanted to give into you, not your body.  
I hope that's not too much to swallow.  
-Shadow

Shadow,  
It blows me away that you are so dedicated towards me in this relationship. Now, I'm not the one to get all mushy, but I will say I do appreciate that you placed responsibility over your desires. Also, this whole intimate conversation has been leaving me with butterflies in my basket. I didn't even know anyone could make me feel this way, especially you! I wanted you too, but I reckoned it was too soon. Believe it or not, I've been missing you. Things aren't the same without you here. Oh, and that whole distance thing, cheesy, but I like it.  
-Sonic  
-

_To Shadow,  
A few of us heard about this guy who looks a lot like you just more mysterious and scarier in the eyes who was asking for literacy tests to be made on each of my friends in order to send them to homeless children so that they can learn to read and develop their own handwriting. I figured it couldn't hurt so Amy, Knuckles, Tails, Cream, Rouge, and decided to go see him. Cream had to leave her chao at home. I heard Cheese has the Chao-Chao again. When we got there, his kid, who I will say, looks nothing like him, showed us what to do. After that, we were asked if we wanted to greet the children ourselves. The guy who ran the organization , oh darn! I can't remember his name, it was something foreign I think, but anyway, was thrilled when he saw who I was when I came in. He said that the children would be thrilled to see what I have done for them and even more when they see me in person as their recognized hero!  
I can't let me fans down so I'm leaving! I'll tell you how it all went when I get back. It's the 220th day! I haven't lost count yet!  
See ya!  
-Sonic_

That was the last letter the hero ever sent to Shadow.

-

_To Sonic:  
Well that guy sounds suspicious. I'd watch my back if I were you, but then again you're so carefree you'd probably be back without a scratch-telling me I was wrong! Hmph! There's nothing wrong with having an alert ear flapped open. He doesn't sound safe to be around, not to mention with the characteristics you just mentioned. What do you mean he reminds you of me? You think you know a hedgehog; already confusing me with another faker? Well, faker, don't get us mistaken or you might get hurt! Ha-ha! The majority ruled on the strategy to follow and my idea was voted out. I say they're all jealous, which will just make them all die in the end! Fools… It's because I'm the ultimate life form isn't it?  
I'm now counting the days until I leave. I don't mind being here, I just prefer being with you, Sonic. You are the one I want to wake up and see and listen to, not this stupid green cot that never seems to silence the guys masturbating outside._

-Shadow

-

**Inside a truck**_  
Sonic's P.O.V.  
My eyes opened very slowly. My eyelids felt so heavy. I could hear the sound of a running motor. I closed my eyes again and listened to the movement of tires passing over something on the road's surface. I opened my eyes again and everything was blurry. Before I could make up what I was seeing, I felt a cloth cover my nose and mouth. The smell was incredibly strong and it felt intoxicated as the air passed through my airways. I was forced back to sleep. Before heading to a black out, I stole the sight of seeing the car's windshield and a desert landscape.  
_  
Original P.O.V.  
Sonic opened his eyes once more in a different location. He stretched his back and legs and rubbed his eyes. He looked around to find himself in a rather odd background. He tried to remember what happened before that would have lead him here. In He was inside a warm building that was perhaps a barn and he was inside a tall stable no bigger than that for a horse. On his sides were large walls that separated each stable from the other. In front of him was an open stable with Amy presently inside. The girl was fast asleep on the floor that was covered in hay over a hardwood flooring. There was a large space in between the stalls in front of Sonic and those on the other side. This space had hay covering the floor by large amounts. Sonic attempted to walk over to Amy. He lifted himself upward and started to make his way towards her when all of a sudden, after a few steps, his leg could not move. Sonic turned to look at his leg and noticed the large chain that was strapped to his ankle. He bent down and tried to shake off, push through, or break the shackle, but it was no use. Sonic then cried out for the others by their names, "Hey Knuckles! Amy! Rouge! Tails! Cream! Where are you?!" Everyone was fast asleep and chained to the cement wall behind them, that is, almost everyone. 'What is this?' he muttered.

Cream was nowhere near the rest of the group. She was in a box and was surrounded by maple-colored walls. She flew outside of the box and landed on her feet. Yellow eyes surveyed the area until they spotted an interesting machine. There was a conveyor belt with a large blade handing over it. This machine was high, so she climbed over the conveyor belt and noticed a bell past the large blade. The light of the bell twinkled like a star. Cream felt attracted towards the shine and started moving towards it. She crawled on the belt and made her way past the blade. The bell hung over the other side. A gloved hand reached for the bell to strike it. It made a small ding sound and she laughed at it, but when she tried to grab a hold of it, a string was pulled and the sharp blade was activated. A high-pitched yelp was silenced by the walls of thick construction.

At Cream's house, Cheese was being fed his favorite soup as a part of his remedy. Vanilla sat on the chao's bed and fed him herself. The chao was enjoying his soup when suddenly, his eyes widened and he started to shout, "Chao-chao!" Vanilla was shocked by the sudden behavior, "What's wrong Cheese? Is the soup too hot?" Cheese nodded and pointed to the picture of her daughter that was placed on the night stand. "Don't worry, Cheese, I'm sure she'll be back soon." Cheese nodded once more and held onto the mother's dress and wept loudly. "Oh!" She placed a hand on the chao and pet him softly as the chao muffled his cries in her dress. Vanilla wasn't sure how to take the chao's reaction. "It's okay, Cheese," she spoke in a comforting voice. Her head moved up and looked towards the sky; hoping that her daughter was alright.

The azure teenager placed both of his feet against the wall and tugged on the chain. He pulled and he pulled with no luck. Next, he tried to speed up and move forward after creating enough speed. His shoes pushed back the hay in front of him and threw them behind him. The movement continued on and the chain was extending, but not loosening. Sonic stopped when his shoes tripped over the mix of hay beneath him. "C'mon!" he shouted. The hero pulled once more, but the chain would not let go. He panted at the last effort. His eyes drifted around to find another solution. Eventually, after Sonic's continuous struggle to break free caused so much noise, Knuckles woke up along with the others. Knuckles rose to his feet and nodded, "What happened?" he asked himself. Knuckles could see the open stalls as well, but he was across from Sonic. Tails was placed beside his best friend and woke up to his surprise in chains. He cried out his friend's name, "Sonic! Where are you?" "Tails! Are you alright?" questioned the hero.

"What's going on?"

"I don't know, have you seen Knuckles?"

"Yeah, he's right in front of me . Where are you?"

"I think I'm right next to you."

"Is Amy okay?"

"I'm not sure, she's been like that since I woke up."

Knuckles made his head turn to see his other comrades and soon Rouge woke up. They all tried to determine the reasons for being in this situation. Some blamed Eggman while others believed it was a whole different story. They noticed that Amy wasn't responding and Cream was missing. Luckily in Rouge's situation, she happened to be chained in the same stable as Amy. She tried to shake the girl awake, but she would not react. A minute later, Amy slowly rose to her awakening. "Ugh, w-what happened?" she asked. "Amy!" everyone exclaimed. She widened her tired eyes, "What?" Her eyes appeared tiresome. Suddenly, the sound of loud footsteps rose in the air. The steps were secure, but slow as if for an introduction of an epic villain in the movies. The barn had a small opening of light leaking through the window on the spot in the center of all the madness. The stomps were becoming louder and louder. The approaching figure was hidden in the darkness of night, but soon his figure was shown on the moonlight. He held the characteristics of the ultimate life form in both form and stature, but a completely different coloring and aurora. He reeked of negative energy like a dark omen on the night sky. "Who are you?" asked the cobalt one. The creature in the middle turned to the questioning one, "I am only the same one you've seen this afternoon. I am Mephiles, Mephiles the Dark. He approached Sonic slowly, "What? Did you forget me already?" He laughed maliciously and turned back to the moonlight. He had striped quills in black and blue and ominous green eyes. His voice was sinisterly evil. "Why have you brought us here and where's Cream?" questioned the echidna. "For the sole purpose to serve in the way I request you all to do. Those who impede or attempt to escape with result in the punishment of great severity or death. As for your little rabbit friend, that girl was saved from much trouble, you'll see."

The hero growled, "Grr! Where's Cream?! What did you do to her?!" "You lied to us just to bring us over here, didn't you?!" Amy said angrily. "Of course I did! The only children are yourselves and the little ones who remain in your stance." "What do you mean?" asked the hero. "Oh you shall see soon enough! I have much in store for you all!" He stepped away from the light, but then turned back, "That reminds me, I will need one of you at this moment," he turned his head towards Amy and gave her a look that only she managed to see in the darkness. Her eyes grew smaller and her face appeared petrified. He stepped closer to her, but before he could place a hand on her, Sonic shouted, "Don't you dare get near her!" Mephiles smirked, "You're trapped and throwing commands? Who has the upper hand? I decide who will be the first feed!" "W-What?" Sonic wasn't sure as to what that meant, but he sensed that whatever it was, Mephiles wasn't going to be merciful about it with Amy. Green eyes stared hungrily into innocent emerald eyes of the pink hedgehog. Rouge stepped in to help, but after the eyes turned to the bat's eyes, her pupils widened and she stepped back. Amy stuttered, "D-don't you d-dare t-touch me!" The hedgehog laughed, "Oh I plan to do more than that!" Out of the dark quills came out a handkerchief in which he smothered her face in until she was passed out again. Amy fought to push it away, but the enemy's hand overpowered her strength. He took the key out and unchained her. His arms lifted her unconscious body over his shoulders and he turned to the rest of the animals, "I'll be back for the rest of you." The others tried to penetrate their legs through the shackles to save Amy, but their attempts were futile. Rouge watched the enemy flee with his prize. Knuckles grunted, "Rouge! Why didn't you stop him?!" Rouge placed a hand over her breast that held her heart and stuttered to answer, "I-I I couldn't stop..." She turned away from Knuckles face in what appeared to be shame.

Sonic pulled on the chain harder while crying out Amy's name and promising that the Mephiles character would not get away with this. Tails attempted to squeeze his twin tails free, but the shackles were holding him still from the very bone of his tails and ankle. Seeing as they fled the scene, he called out to his best friend to stop, "Sonic! It's no use! We can't break free!" The azure hedgehog wouldn't give up. He tried to run, leap, and pull against the restraint, but nothing worked. Angrily, he collapsed to the floor and slammed his tight fist to the floor, "Aargh! Dang it!"


	9. Abide to Survive

Fear  
By: Shadowluz07  
'Abide to Survive'

It wasn't until perhaps 2am that Sonic was able to sleep from all the shouting and concern running in his mind as to what was going to happen to Amy, drugged as she was and helpless. He was surprised to see that he was able to sleep. It made him feel like a failure, almost as if he had turned back on a friend who needed help. Nevertheless, he had no way of saving her from her misfortune.

Considering that they first woke up at 11 P.M. and hit the sack at 2 a.m. was quite a time span. Sonic slowly raised his eyelids and flapped them up and down, then back up to see. He lifted himself up and saw that the stall across from him only held Rouge who she too, had collapsed due to the exhaust of waiting. The sun dove her hand through the opening of the roof and hit the center of the barn, the same way the moon did last night. When Sonic saw that Amy wasn't back, his worries became worse. He couldn't help but wonder if Amy was alright; if she was going to come back _alive_. Suddenly, those around him started to wake up from their sleep. The hedgehog found it strange that somehow they all had similar awakening patterns, 'is it all a coincidence?' he thought. Tails looked around and his first words were, "W-Where's Amy? She's not back?" Sonic nodded. Knuckles growled, "Grr! When I get my hands on that creep, I'll crush that loony!" Rouge responded with her own opinion, "Don't get so worked up, knucklehead! I'm sure your girlfriend will be alright!"

"The echidna growled, "Is that why you didn't bother to save her?"

"First of all, I couldn't reach her and second, she can defend herself!"

"Oh, so now the bat thinks that Amy has the nuts for me and can confront a guy we don't even know! We don't know what he's capable of!"

"Considering how he took her away, I say you're too late!"

"Oh, so you want our friend to get hurt! Because it really sounds like you want that!"

"I just think cheaters ought to go to hell and that means you and her! You both!"

"Well if you really think Amy is so interested in me, then why is she still mad at Sonic, hm? Why doesn't she talk to him?"

"Because…because…"

"That's what I thought!"

"Don't talk to me that way you overgrown-"

Tails shushed the arguing couple with both his voice and hand gestures. He then used his free hand to direct them to something. Their eyes moved to someone entering the room. Out of the shadows came Mephiles with Amy in his arms. He set her down beside Rouge and placed the lock onto her ankle again and gave Rouge a look. The white bat looked back at him, then turned away. Amy cringed into a ball and released tears out of her eyes quietly. She placed her knees over her chest and hugged them tightly. Her eyes were filled with an emotion that Rouge thought she understood, but was more profound, as if something penetrated her soul. Everyone else looked at her. "Amy! Amy! Are you alright?" questioned the echidna. Amy didn't respond. "Amy, can you talk to us?" questioned the yellow fox. Sonic looked at his worried friends then at Amy, then at his friends again. "Amy, can you hear me?" The pink hedgehog moved her eyes toward her hero. Her once loving green eyes were expressionless. Her eyes appeared to have dark splotches around them and her hair contained bits of hay that were tangled inside. Her eyes read a reflective sadness that cried for help, but begged for a help that could not fully be restored. He could tell she lost something, deep inside of her. Perhaps it was her light. Her happy light had gone off. Sonic turned his attention to Mephiles' eyes. His eyes were the same color, but they were expressing a different emotion, dark pride. He could see that this being was evil taken in whatever-he-said-he-was form. With great spitefulness, he commanded to know, "What did you do to her?!" "The same awaits the rest of you! Don't worry," he looked down at the trembling pink female, "She might be nice enough to tell you what happened. Then again, that would mean she'd have to relive it in her mind, isn't that right?" Amy didn't look at him, she shivered even more. The mad being laughed and walked off, content.

Everyone tried to reach out to Amy from their shackled limbs as far as they could; to get a glimpse of her. She didn't look at anyone, just the floor. Rouge managed to steal a look at the pink one's face, then drew herself back to the wall beside her. Amy circled her gloved index finger to the floor. "Amy," Sonic walked up a bit closer, "whatever he did to you, you don't have to tell us. I promise you, I'll get even with that bastard!" Tails widened his eyes, "Sonic?" The hero growled, "That no good low-life took advantage of our charitable ways and Amy! I won't let the rest of you go through something like this!" "Do you honestly think we can get away?" replied the twin-tailed fox. Knuckles added on, "Of course we will! We always do!" "Hmph! Actions speak louder than words, honey, can't you see you couldn't even bust out of your own chains?" Rouge criticized the echidna. The echidna growled, "Do you have to be so negative? I could bust out if I wanted to, I'm just…tired." "Well, let's see you prove yourself, break free!"

"What do you think I've been trying to do since that menace returned Amy?"

"Oh, so you can't get out? Now we're seriously screwed!"

"You're the one who's screwed up in misery!"

"Oh, shut up! You can't even break metal you're restrained to!"

"I'd like to see you try, missy!"

-Base Camp in the Northern Regions of the Coast of Classified Location—

"Are you going to bouncing that ball in the air all day or are you going to go? C'mon! We don't have all day!" said a soldier in a camouflage outfit. "In a minute!" yelled back the other soldier. He caught the ball in mid-air and made his way to the back. The black and red hedgehog lifted the flap from the cot and entered the scene, "Where the hell is Travis?" he asked. The soldier standing there earlier replied to the hedgehog, "Travis is barely changing into his uniform! Can you believe this guy?" Shadow stomped over to the 'dressing room' in the back part of the cot which was in fact just a piece of tarp held up as a curtain. He went inside carelessly meanwhile the soldier outside heard the racket that went on inside:

"What the hell are you doing?!"

"Ah! S-Shadow!"

"Quiet! Now get the hell out!"

"But I'm-"

"No excuses! Out!"

"Ouch! Watch it-Ouch!"

The sound of clanking and voices mixed within the room until Travis was pushed out with his camouflage pants and grey undershirt on. A camouflage jacket was thrown out of the room which fell onto Travis' body that landed on the floor. Shadow stepped over the soldier and walked past the standing one. He looked into his eyes and spoke in a serious tone, "Sky, make sure he doesn't spend another hour here." The soldier looked at Travis, who was rising to his feet from the throw-down. "Man, I hate that guy," Travis complained. Shadow walked out of the cot and continued to move past groups of soldiers until he reached his own tent and picked up his gun off his bed. At the moment of doing so, his black ears picked up the voices of men outside, "Can you believe that guy?" "Yeah, he acts like he's in charge!" "Have you heard the rumors?"

"I've heard a few, but people just say things to be rude. They don't know what to invent anymore!"

"No, but we think this might actually be true!"

"Which one?"

"We think Shadow might have some kind of relationship with a guy!"

"No! You're kidding me!"

"Yeah!"

"That stupid rumor comes from the damn homophobes in this camp! Everyone gets accused of that! It's so fake!"

"No, but listen! I heard someone read one of his letters! Apparently they think Shadow's dating Sonic!"

"Nah! That can't be true! Shadow & Sonic are sworn enemies…aren't they?"

"Well, why else would Shadow be so secretive about his letters?"

"That guy doesn't like to talk much nor does he like to talk about his personal life. I find it normal."

"What if I told you he acted somewhat strange when he said goodbye to him?"

"How so?"

"He sounded pretty excited to see him. Earlier, he was as gloomy as usual."

"Well, when you put it that way…"

Suddenly, the black hedgehog emerged in the presence of the two soldiers behind the tent, one of them being Sky. Their eyes widened. 'Could Shadow have overheard our conversation?' they thought. The ebony one spoke first, "You may believe what you want about me. Consider me bossy and impressive, but to judge me based on rumors is juvenile!" "Look, sir, we didn't mean to stir up trouble with you. We were simply trying to figure you out." Shadow smirked at the other combatant beside Sky, "Don't try. People lost their lives doing that." The combatant's eyes grew.

A blistering wind passed by and stroked the faces of the black and red hedgehog. He looked to the direction of the wind. 'Sonic, ' was the name that came with the wind. It reminded him of the blue blur. He blinked and saw the maker of the twirling wind was a fast running mail-man named, Ted. He ran to the hedgehog, "A letter for you!" Shadow took the envelope from the mail-man. He looked back at him and watched him run off saying, "More mail! More mail to deliver!" "I always thought that guy was nuts," Sky commented. Shadow forgot about the argument and went back into his cot to read the letter. The sender was none other than Sonic. The black hedgehog took his combat knife and sliced the envelope open from the top. He removed the letter and began to read:

Shadow,  
So I just came back from my trip over at that one place where the children were at. I've got to say, this guy was not only creepy looking, but he had a voice that stuck to my inner being. Other than that, he was a pretty OK guy. I don't even know how long it's been since we've been separated, however, I do want to say that I miss you and that I think about you a lot.  
Tough luck on your missions and I hope to see you soon!  
-Sonic  
P.S. Yes, I'm sure they're all very jealous of you.

The black hedgehog found the letter a bit odd on certain contents. He figured it would be simply best to keep his hands clean of it and write a response after he patrolled the streets of enemy territory. He would have plenty of time to think there. The human shadows started to move; game time.

**Barn**  
"Stop arguing! We need to get ourselves out of here! Not only for our own sake, but what if Eggman planned our kidnapping so that he could take over the city?" Tails said. "How could you think old Egg-head could be behind all of this? Everything that we're facing right now is much too horrible, just look at Amy!" exclaimed the blue hero. "Yeah, but what if he knew someone who hated us all and decided to hire him to get rid of us once and for all?" "I highly doubt it. He isn't exactly a man of his word and also, could he be that evil to throw us into a ring of possible murderers?" The young fox sat quiet, "Maybe you're right." Rouge joined the conversation, "It doesn't matter who's behind all of this; the fact is we're all in danger unless we can get out of here!" "But...how?" questioned the twin-tailed fox. Everyone except the pink hedgehog started to think of an escape plan. Amy herself bellowed in her misery and watched a few ants circle something on the floor. "What if we can somehow grab some rocks by our side and throw them at the son if he gets here? He'll drop the key and it's so long barn!" Tails requested in joy. The echidna disagreed, "What makes you think he'd unlock us in the first place? I doubt he'll be carrying any keys on his side. Come to think of it, there aren't any keyholes in our chains!" "Hold on there, Knuckles, we do!" Sonic exclaimed. Everyone including Amy turned their head to the blue blur, "It's at the ankle! That must have been how he got Amy out last night!" The pink hedgehog closed her eyes.

The fox picked up the sound of an entrance coming from the far side of the barn, "Shh! someone's coming!" Rouge, Sonic, Knuckles, and Tails all sat down and waited for something to happen. The steps became louder and soon the sunlight illuminated the one who walked in. It was the son of Mephiles. "You!" pointed out the hero, "Why are you here?" "Don't ask questions, Sonic!" hollered the echidna, "Let's get him and offer his life for our freedom to that low life, Mephiles! He'll have to surrender us if he wants his son to live!" Just before the hero could pounce the young boy, the child changed their minds, "Do what you will to me. Father does not value my life." "Huh?" Sonic looked at the boy in confusion.

"I am nothing but his obedient servant. I only do what I must. Don't waste your energy on me." He walked to Sonic and dropped himself to his knees and took out a few items from a dirty beige messenger bag he carried. The boy himself was not in a different state compared to the bag. His skin was dry, his hair was dusted in dirt and wood chips and his hands held blisters-old and new. The items he took out were a syringe, long elastic tube, scissors, a clean rag, and a bottle of alcohol. "Sonic, will you please not move?" Before the hedgehog could comment or ask what the boy was doing, the needle penetrated the epidermis on his arm. "H-hey! What are you doing?" the hero tried to take out the needle, but the boy placed his hand over and nodded. Hazel eyes looked poorly at emerald green, "I advise you not to remove your tubes." "Why shouldn't I?"

"Father flows liquids to help keep his creatures alive, especially you, hedgehog."

"M-me?"

"Yes."

"What do I have-any of us have to do with all this?"

"Father will not allow me to release details. However, he does want you to know that he has plans for you."

"In what?"

"In making you suffer."

"For what?"

"Classified, however your friends are only puppets in his play of perversion."

"What exactly do you mean by perversion? W-what is he going to do to us?"

"On the day the moon falls over the ceiling, a night of shadows, fears, and darkness will fill your lives."

'What the heck does that mean?' the perplexed hedgehog tilted his head. The boy walked over to Tails. The fox questioned the child, "So, what are these tubes for you said?" "They are feeding tubes. Alas you will not be on an empty stomach when father does his work." Tails looked away, "Oh." The boy connected Tails and moved on to Knuckles, who threatened to pulverize him anyway, but Sonic told the red head to cooperate. "What did you mean about what you said anyway?" "I bet I know!" said the fox. "I think he means that when the moon moves over the barn, something bad will happen right?" The boy nodded, "Take heed not upset father then nor before. He spites disobedience." "How can we trust you? After all, for all we know you're just a mini Mephiles!" Rouge frowned.  
The boy walked over to the bat and started to work the tubes on her. "I am not supposed to say anything my father does not authorize. I have already said much." He looked towards Sonic, "Hero, I will assist you in your escape and that of your friends-any that survive but I can only do so after the moon has shown. Do not attempt to leave sooner. You will anger father." "Why can't you help us now?" Rouge continued. Knuckles jumped in, "Why would he help us in the first place? He's the son of the enemy!" The blond-haired boy pat the blood running down the white bat's arm with the clothing rag, "I don't agree with father's actions. I too am at risk if I do not obey. I've helped many before you, that night is the best night I've been able to see fit." "Hold on, he's done this before?" Sonic exclaimed in his surprise. The boy pat the arm down and sighed, "Since I left the womb. He looked at the female hedgehog, "I've said too much."

The boy faced the girl who was still in a ball, watching the ants. She appeared expressionless. "Girl," he pleaded, "I need you to position yourself accordingly." He extended his arm to show her. Amy's eyes moved to what the boy expressed and then back to the ants. The child moved in closer. Her eyes moved toward a certain set of keys hanging from the pocket of the child's shorts. Amy stood up, stole the keys, and unlocked herself in the flash of adrenaline she maintained. As she started to run, everyone who remained locked hollered, "Run Amy! Run!" "You can do it!" "Don't stop!"

Amy ran. Her ears could still pick up the voices of her friends until she pushed the heavy barn doors open and the girl jolted out. The sun was out and she was surrounded by a dry grass terrain and a nearby forest. Her instinct was to head for the woods.

The boy had quickly recovered his supplies and stored them away in his bag; meanwhile Mephiles entered the scene, What is this commotion?! The boy bowed his head, "Forgive me, but the girl has escaped?" "'What?!" Mephiles slapped the child with a wind-striking force that sent him turning and falling to the floor. How could let her escape?!" He paused, "No matter, she will not get far." Sonic struggled in his chains, but was defenseless in his efforts to do anything.

Amy Rose continued to run without a thought of looking back. She was yelping out, "Someone help me!" on her way to the forest. The forest was almost two and a half miles away and her heart was racing in every effort to keep her legs going. However, this isn't Sonic we're mentioning. Eventually down the second mile, after having maneuvered through farm equipment and animals, her ears picked up the sound of someone behind her. She turned her head, her eyes widened, the being she feared was gaining pace on her. Rose grew fearful and tried to pump her pink legs harder, but the exhausting run was tiring her out, she didn't think she'd be able to make it. In her efforts, she managed to trip, but got up quickly at the adrenaline pushed her to continue. Alas, she made it to the opening of the forest. She looked back again, he was a small black dot in a field of golden grass. Rose didn't hesitate to continue. She moved down a steep portion of the road and ended in a bed of autumn leaves. Amy continued on, yelling for anyone who could hear her cries. The yelling, however, was taking the oxygen away, leaving her much more exhausted.

The tall trees were stripping their multicolor leaves. The wind was sweeping by at almost a unexcitable rate. It was strong enough to brush by the small leaves and unveils the forest floor below. The view of the canopy from the floor was a web of interconnected branches that contains gaps of blue and in one, a blistering star.

Amy reached the ending of the slope and rolled down the rest of the way until a boulder blocked her any further and slightly scratched her knees. She turned around once more and saw the dot was approaching. Amy stopped calling out. She quickly dusted her knees and kept running. The feeling of fear and desperation for anyone to come sweep her feet & save her was filling up to the point in which she started to shed tears. Those tears fell from green eyes and hopped onto the wind and were carried away. She stopped at a lake, dead end. There was no way to cross it and she didn't have time to see if she could wade across. Not to mention she had no idea what lurked in those waters. The lake was about 15 feet in diameter all around. It carried a few fallen leaves on its greenish blue surface. Light glimmered beautifully on the side where the blistering star hit her rays on the lake.

Amy felt trapped. She turned decided to keep going, so she hid behind a large tree trunk and a boulder beside it. She breathed heavily from the action, and then swallowed. She had no idea where her pursuer had gone. In her fear, she waited for him to leave in case he was close.  
The sound of leaves crushing made the hedgehog jump a bit. She knew he was near. She figured she'd know where he was when the sound closed in her. The sound commenced and it started getting closer...closer...farther? The sound faded away. That appeared strange. Either Mephiles had fled without a sound, or he wasn't moving. Amy continued to listen. Without much thought, she lifted herself to her feet and turned to see if Mephiles was there. Her head popped out of the standing tree. To her surprise, no one was there. The hedgehog gulped. She took a step from her hiding spot and looked around, no one.  
Suddenly, the pink hedgehog shrieked at the quickness of Mephiles kidnapping her from behind.

-Minutes later-  
Birds chirped in the canopy of the forest. Down below laid a creature pleasuring himself. He grunted and moaned at the feeling he was receiving. His hands passed over his erection with a silk-soft undergarment that was under them. The undergarment-panties in this case, created a sensational touch to his current method of masturbation. He moaned quietly under the shade of the trees-Amy was not in sight. His hands pressed against his member-tugging at the panties in his excitement. Mephiles' moans grew louder. His hands stroked the member with more force as he penetrated the underwear until he ejaculated all over the undergarment. White semen spewed all over the inside of the underwear and a few drops managed to escape onto the dry leaves around him. The creature made one final hard push against the underwear until a hole was torn onto the other side. He wiped his filthy self with the silk clothing and hung it onto a tree branch, where the developed hole was penetrated by a twig.

Minutes onward, the barn doors reopened and caught the ears of everyone in the stalls. "Do you think he caught her?" questioned the echidna. Sonic shushed him. Walking into the room was Mephiles and a restrained pink hedgehog. The hearts of everyone sank, she was discovered. Amy was bonded tightly in rope with her mouth sealed with tape. The boy came in expectantly after his father. He took Amy and attached her back to her chains. The boy made sure she couldn't fight back by placing the chains locks first and then untying that part of her. After he imprisoned her, the girl dropped onto her knees and looked at Mephiles. Her eyes appeared to be filled with a deep hatred for him. Finally, the tape at the mouth was removed. The pink hedgehog rose to her feet and as she struggled to move freely, she yelled, "Why don't you just kill me you, bastard!" The being laughed, "Why would I ever do that? What fun would that be to me? You were just the beginning for me," he looked at everyone else, "As for the rest of these life forms, I can't wait to see what I'll have in store for them!" Mephiles licked his lips and stole a glance from the hero. Sonic blinked and his heart sank a bit, "life forms…" the phrase reminded him of the ebony hedgehog.

"You leave them alone!"

"Don't plan on me actually agreeing to your threat; you're no fear of mine. Soon, however, I shall be that of all of you!"

"You don't scare me, Mephiles!" argued the blue hedgehog. Mephiles smirked,  
"Oh, don't worry, I have something special in mind for you. In the meantime, stay in your places and do as you're told," he glanced over to Amy,  
"or else…"

"Oh yeah! Well, you won't get away with this!"

"Oh, but I have and you'll be the ones that will never get away! If you know what's good for your life!" The malicious being fled the scene, meanwhile the boy hurried in placing the tubes into the pink hedgehog and packed up his gear, "I warned you. Father hates disobedience." The hero crossed his arms, "So, what should we do? We can't just let Mephiles apprehend us! Who knows what sick experiments he'll do to us!" "You haven't witnessed anything-yet," commented the boy. Suddenly, a strong stench reached all over the room. Sonic pinched his nose, "What is that awful smell?" Tails imitated his friend, "Yeah, it smells like rotten fish!" Knuckles hid his nose within his fist, "Any idea what it might be, Rouge?" The white bat placed her hands over her hips, "I believe I know what it is, but it's best to keep both your heads and noses out of it." "Why?" questioned the fox. "You, especially, don't need to know." The bat looked over at Amy, who was now at the corner of the room with her legs extended together with the hay below her. Rouge frowned, 'Hm, I wonder if Knuckles was right about her."  
The friends arranged another plan of escape after the boy had left. The smell remained and still none of the boys knew that it had originated from the underwear-free female farthest from the group with an achingly used vagina.

-Dusk at the Base Camp of Classified Location—  
The black hedgehog and his teammates returned to base after a long perimeter check that lasted until the nightfall. Private Sky sat on a log that stretched out a couple feet. He unraveled the laces on his steel-toe boots and pulled the shoe out. He massaged his foot over his sock and watched as Shadow lied beside a tree. Travis sat close by, but on a smaller log than Sky. "Ah! My feet are aching really bad!" complained the human private, "You'd think they'd make shoes more comfortable." Travis nodded as he tried to take his own shoe off, but struggled to pull the military boots off. The black hedgehog snickered, "If steel-toe boots aren't sufficient for you low-beings, then that is such a pity." "I'd like to see you take one off!" cried Travis as he continued to pull off the shoe. Sky looked over to Shadow, ignoring the insult, "So, how about that letter?" Red eyes maneuvered to blue, "What?" "I mean, aren't you going to tell us about who wrote to you?"

Shadow didn't respond. "Yeah! Tell us!" Travis butted in, now rocking himself forward and back in trying to get the shoe off. The ebony hedgehog continued to keep silent. "C'mon! What are you, pussy?" Both blue and red eyes darted directly at Travis, who by default covered his mouth after realizing what he did. Much like a kindergartner who swears for the first time to a principal. The black hedgehog wasted now time and fried the log below the man, making him land on his but, with his shoe still unmoved. Shadow walked up to Travis and looked him in the eyes, "Another underestimation like that and I'll stab you in the face with your own damn shoe!" Travis quivered, "Are you fucking clear?!" Travis nodded and limped away not because of injury, but because half his foot was still stuck in the boot.

Shadow walked back to the tree and unloaded the gear from his shoulders. He looked up at the sky and saw the stars. Without much thought to it, he swore he heard the name of the blue hero in the wind. Instead of feeling bashful and jumpy on the inside, he sensed danger lurking ahead. "Hey, Shadow?" Sky interrupted Shadow's thoughts, "Why don't you open up to us?" "Because my life has nothing to do with you. You're not going to die if you don't know and even so, I wouldn't save you!" Sky blinked,

"Do I-we mean that little to you?"

"Oh please! You'd all be dead if it wasn't for me being here!"

"Oh, is that what you think? That's pretty cocky of you to say!"

"It's not cockiness, it's the truth. You normal life forms can't survive without me and that's that!"

"I think the 'ultimate life form' title is a little overexaggerated from your part."

"No, it's just you not accepting that I am and you're all envious!"

Sky rolled his eyes. A spark sparked in Shadow's mind. For a second the conversation he just had reminded him of his rivalry with Sonic. Sonic… that name, the letter! The black hedgehog walked back into his quarters, bringing his package with him. He took the bag and pulled out the letter. It was wrinkly and the writing at the end was smudged. Nevertheless, Shadow reread it and took out a pen and paper to reply back:

Dear Sonic,  
So Mr. Creepy is now Mr. Sunshine, eh? Good to know you're out of there though. I hope these days progress faster or else I'm going to end up frying everyone out here! I'm not really caring as to what these guys have been saying to me, but it's my silence. My silence perhaps appears as a form of weakness. Well I showed a good ol' soldier what it means to mess with the ultimate life form! I tell you, they're all weaklings. I respect their stance here, but let's face it, I am the best one out here in my unit. Am I right?  
So I see you lost track of the days. That means I'm declared the dominant one of this relationship! Ha-ha!  
Better luck next time, faker!  
Shadow

P.S. I'm not one to say much, but I can't help but get this uneasy feeling that something's up. Take care of yourself and the others. I feel a storm coming up.

Shadow placed the pen on his thick, dark green blanket and folded his letter up in three parts, as he always did and placed it in an empty envelope. He reached into his bag to find something besides his tongue to seal the envelope, when suddenly; he came across something sticking out of his bag. A green line was visible from his viewing angle until he took it out and was surprised at his discovery. An orchid had wrapped itself on the equipment bag he carried. Shadow smirked. He got the idea of placing the orchid in with the letter as a surprise gift. He figured it was cheezy, but he went on with it. After all, according to Sonic and Shadow, the ultimate life form was the dominant one. He licked the sticky surface of the envelope and pressed down on it. He reached for his pen once again and wrote the directed address at which his letter would go to. Shadow snuck the envelope into his bag, careful as to not to damage the flower and sealed it tight. The black hedgehog walked back out to see Sky still sitting on the log, but with his foot back in the boot.

Shadow walked back to the same tree and looked at the fire across from him. It sat in the middle of the base camp grounds. Sky looked to the hedgehog, and then turned away. Later, Shadow spoke up,

"Your foot stopped hurting?"

"Yeah, but since when do you care?"

"Ha! Don't expect me to; it was simply out of curiosity. It's not my fault you all can't handle a simple trench through a terrain!"

"I happen to have experience! It's just lucky for you that you're wearing those fire-powered skates!"

The two faced each other. Shadow remarked,  
"Don't get me started on that!"

"You know it's true!"

"Don't get me started on that! We were only walking. It's not like I levitated! As for the popular criticism I always get, I can run just as well in them!"

"Whatever. Can't believe you consider yourself so grand!"

"I _am _the ultimate life form. I do happen to be naturally impeccable and skillful."

"Much like Sonic huh?"

The black hedgehog turned away, but Travis went on, but with his head a bit down, "So, do you two talk much?"

Out of nowhere, Travis came running out of the bushes. Sky smirked, "Hey, what's with you? You look like you've just seen a ghost!" Travis' face was terrified. While Sky saw this as a joke of the weak soldier, Shadow saw more. He walked closer to Travis, "Hold on," he shook the soldier, "Hey, what's with you." He hyperventilated in his speech, "En-enemy forces!" Suddenly, the chest of the soldier grew a hole after a bullet impacted the body and out of the exit wound came the gushing of blood from his heart. His eyes moved upward and his mouth instantly bled. He dropped to the floor-dead. "Travis!" cried the private in shock. Pretty soon, the rest of the bullets passed onto the field. The sound of men crying to the others deafened the night. Shadow didn't hesitate for battle. He went back to the cot, took out two guns, one for him and the other for Sky. The private shook his head and followed the hedgehog into the mess of firearms and bloodshed.

The soldiers scurried for their weapons. Some managed to make it and fired back meanwhile others died trying. Blood splatter painted the dirt below their feet. In some sense, it also rained bullets from both sides. The enemy was coming from the far side of the camp grounds. The ebony hedgehog hurried to action and blasted his weapon at the enemy at full force. He watched them fall to their knees and bleed to death. A dark well-fitted man called for the hedgehog's name, "Shadow!" he cried, "They're after the cargo!" The black hedgehog ceased fire and watched as two enemy soldiers tried to sneak their supplies. Red eyes peered through the small aim on his gun and a smirk came across his face. He fired and both of them, killing one and scaring the other.

"Pitiful humans," he commented under his breath. He turned his attention back to the vast number of enemies. Shadow didn't put down the impressive smirk on his face. He charged at them at full force and managed to knock many off to the floor with a few guns snapping out of their hands. As for the rest of them, they directed their attention to the rapidly moving hedgehog. "Eliminate him!" cried the enemy. Shadow watched as the soldiers ran towards him in a spree of numbers. The black hedgehog pounded away with his fists, kicked them away, and knocked out others with his homing attack. Thus, the black hedgehog continued to be outnumbered. Sky and the buff man knew this, so they developed a plan as others of their group continued to defend the cargo and the camp. Sky made his way through the thick mob. He pulled two guns out of his shirt and fired away. Bullets penetrated heads, faces, and torsos all around. Blood skewered everywhere from both people's shirts and onto others. He made his way to the black hedgehog. Red eyes met blue and as soon as he glanced a smirk at him, one of the enemy soldiers cocked his gun on the striped hedgehog's head, making him come cold. Sky widened his eyes, "Shadow!"

The striped hedgehog collapsed in the man's arms. Blue eyes quickly looked at his surroundings. There must have been hundreds of them. In an effort to buy time for his companion, Sky continued firing at the incoming soldiers. "Joe!" he cried. The big buff man, known as Joe, called out, "I'm coming!" he had run to the load and was setting up the weapon. Sky watched the men fall at his stance, but it appeared that these people resisted to die. He was running out of ammunition… and time. "JOE! Joe paced through the battlefield, knelt down in the middle of the madness, aimed carefully and cried, "Sky!" The blonde turned his head, "Get down!" Joe fired a powerful rocket launcher at the insane rush of enemies. On it's way to impact, it dismembered many of its enemies and surpassed the heads of both Sky and Shadow and stopped at the impact of hitting a car. The car, along with the people, exploded. Sky ran back as quicly as he could before the fireball could excel to devour him. He ran after Joe, with Shadow in his arms. The cloud consumed itself and left in the same instant that it came. The firepower of the rocket left nothing but ashes and fire covered tarps. The explosion had consumed almost every living soul in the mob. Soldiers reacted quickly in putting out the water and searching for survivors. Joe and Sky looked to Shadow, who was still unconscious.

**Barn**  
It was only about ten minutes that it took for Mephiles to come back. He wasn't alone, however. As he made his way back to the stables, there was a sound of something being dragged amongst the floor. The dark being appeared before them, "Your time has come to witness your expectancy," he proclaimed. The hedgehogs, echidna, fox, and bat turned their attention to the Dark. Mephiles turned his head to the side, calling out his son's name, "Hurry it up, Colvan!" The boy soon appeared before them, with a large potato sack that looked much to heavy to be carrying what it was designed for. He released the contents of the bag and out popped another character. Eyes widened amongst the prisoners. The being was none other than a human. As the human lifted its face to those around it, pale blue eyes with black stains clawed around the eyes. "It's just a little girl," muttered the echidna in surprise. The girl rose to her feet at the command of Mephiles. Her pale skin was bruised with several open wounded scars, horrid burns, and deep cuts. She appeared petrified, for she kept her head low and made nothing but a frown. Her blonde hair reached down to her shoulders in large curls that appeared that of the matted fur on a dog. The girl touched her face and scanned the room. Mephiles took out a sharp object from behind his quills. "Now, girl, drop to your knees! You will demonstrate to these life forms their becoming future!" The girl looked to Mephiles and suddenly cried out, "What?!" She saw the five inch blade his hand and nodded, backing away from him, "No! You promised I'd live! You promised I'd live!" The dark laughed, "You have, dear child. Now your time has come to be through with it!" Mephiles grabbed the girl by her hair and dropped her to the ground. "Mephiles! Knock it off! Leave her alone and face someone who can actually defend himself!" growled the blue hedgehog. He tried running to the scene, but the chains pulled him back. "Grrah! Mephiles you fiend!" Sonic continued to insult. Mephiles ignored the tempered hedgehog and proceeded with his work. The girl fought back a bit enough to have her face turn to Amy. The pink hedgehog looked into the girl's eyes. Amy had no desire to see this girl suffering right in front of her, but she couldn't stop staring in her shock. The girl looked back to Mephiles, "You liar! You said I'd live! It's not fair! IT'S NOT FAIR!" she squealed. The girl struggled, avoiding the dagger's penetration anywhere on her skin.

It's funny how some things come and go. How one can support the life of a complete stranger by the innocence they believe is in them. The child was unknown to these animals, and yet Sonic and the others pleaded Mephiles to stop his act of violence. Why? There would be no need to answer that. As fast as that innocent-looking child was brought to the eyes of Sonic and his friends, did the blow to the child's throat cause a slow, painful death. The girl's blue eyes widened. She held her neck as the blood gushed out of the opening. Blood soon drenched out of her nose and mouth. The girl coughed up the red fluid and looked to everyone, especially Amy. The blonde child's condition was not impeding her sense of smell. She detected it the second she arrived in the potato bag. She tried to say something, but she couldn't form the words to speak. The girl died minutes later. Everyone in that room watched her die as the blood slipped through the leaves and hay that littered the floor. Mephiles instructed Colvan to remove the body with the legs of the girl over his shoulders, saying there'd be a feisty meal tonight. "Y-You monster!" growled the echidna. Sonic joined in, "What's your problem?!"

Mephiles appeared confused, "Me? I have no problem at all. You all, on the other hand, are strapped to your chains, prisoners of my games and amusement. That is what I call a problem!" He thought for a second and went on, "That reminds me, since you're all here; I believe we all ought to get started!" There was a tone of excitement in his voice. The ground shook below the stables. Sonic and the others dropped down to the floor. Sonic noticed that lines were forming around the stable. The floor was making a crease, but this crease was getting larger. Then the hedgehog understood it, He was about to be dropped into a hole down below. The creases formed by the floor were mearly the floor itself turning itself upward. The chains unlocked themselves and Sonic dropped down to the dark space below. Amy, Tails, Knuckles, and Rouge all dropped down instantly after Sonic. All of them dropped down to a dark pit leading to just about anywhere. Where? Only Mephiles the Dark knew that.


	10. The Games

Fear

By: Shadowluz07

'The Games'

ANTS: Happy Halloween folks! :D

The yelps that accompanied the falling friends soon plummeted as soon as they hitting the hard bottom. Sonic and Tails landed on their behinds meanwhile everyone else landed on their backs and faces. The party groaned from their harsh falls. Sonic rubbed his head with one eye closed shut, "Ugh! Is everyone alright?" Amy quickly reacted from her fall and fixed her dress to cover her upper thighs and tried to cringe inward in her disturbance that the odor would return. She passed a hand over her quills, "I'm fine," she replied. Tails twisted his tails and nodded as he looked towards his best friend. Knuckles, who was unfortunate enough to fall on his face, massaged it and groaned, "Grrr! I'm going to get even with that guy!" Rouge, who also fell flat on her face, massaged her cheeks and nose, "How did I not think about hovering?"

Green eyes observed the surrounding area. From above, the holes in which the friends had fallen from were the only illumination throughout the open space. Sonic stood up and helped those who were sitting. As for Amy, it took a while before she would accept the hand of her hero for assistance. "Sonic, why do you think we were brought here?" questioned the yellow fox. "I'm not sure, Tails, but what I do know is, we have to stick together from here on out. If someone leaves, we follow, got it?" Knuckles confronted the hero's authority, "Wait, who are you to give orders?!" Sonic turned to the echidna, "It's not a matter of leadership. We are here to get out and that's that! I can't risk anyone getting hurt!" "Hey, not to be rude, but he hasn't done anything to us…except Amy." Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles all turned to the silent pink hedgehog, who looked back with surprised eyes, "What has he done to you?" Knuckles asked.

Amy gripped her arm as if it were injured and turned away. Before Sonic could contemplate an empathetic reply, the girl spoke first, "What difference does it make for me to say anything?" "We'd like to know what were up against," Tails said. Amy appeared to shake and soon her voice followed, "Believe m-me, it would be b-etter if you d-didn't know." Then, in that instant, the pink hedgehog moved her head upward and stopped shaking, "Cream…" "What?" Sonic asked.

"I can't let Cream go through what I have been through…"

"Amy, what are you saying? Do you know what happened to Cream?"

For Amy, the voice of Sonic and the others started to fade.

"If I'm lucky, I can warn her or talk out a way for her not to get hurt!"

"Amy! Hello?"

"I've got to find her!"

With that quick trace of thought, the pink hedgehog stormed towards an open path visible from the lights above. Sonic, Knuckles, Tails, and Rouge went after her. On the trail that Amy traveled, there was a small hill that lead up to a ledge above made of what appeared to be limestone. The girl moved upward in search of the other side. "Amy! Wait for us!" cried Knuckles the echidna. Before Sonic could speed up to Amy's pace, one of her red boots had triggered a trap. On her following step, Amy fell into a ditch that had been covered by leaves and she disappeared inside. "AMY!" Sonic cried as he ran towards the hole and looked inside. At first he heard Amy's cry from the fall, but then it died. He didn't want to jump in in fear that he would not be able to return. Knuckles volunteered to enter, but without notification, the ditched started to close in on them with a sharp metal closing. In desperation, Knuckles tried to pull back the closing sharp doors that would block their entry to her. The echidna pushed back the doors as hard as he could, the problem however was that in doing so, the harder he pushed, the more the sharp points pierced his hands. The red head cried from the pain until the doors themselves moved back. Knuckles quickly drew his hands back. He figured at first that the doors would stay slightly open; that was until in the blink of an eye, they closed shut.

"Amy!" they all cried. The echidna looked at his palms and was alarmed to find the deep gashes that tore into his gloves that were covered in fresh blood. "Now do you see why we have to stick together?" Sonic remarked in a penalizing tone. Knuckles pounded his fist on the floor beside the trap and stood up, "Alright," he turned to everyone else, "Let's go."

The friends continued walking down the path in their hopes of finding a path to Amy and perhaps Cream's whereabouts. Tails jumped and took his tails to flight. He flew in front of the group, but made sure not to venture too far from them. "Sonic, do you think Cream is okay?" The hero didn't make a comment. He thought saying that she was well would bring false hopes and telling him his worst fear on her safety would cause the rest of them to worry. "Sonic?" the fox questioned, confused for why the hedgehog remained quiet.

Suddenly, a claw crept out of the wall and launched itself at the hovering tails. Latching onto the fox from the back, the attack took him by surprise and he squealed in the shock, "Gah!" Sonic's eyes darted towards the action, "Tails!" By impulse, the blue blur leaped upward to stop the claw from retracting back to where it was hiding. Sonic wrapped his arms and legs around the claw that held the twin-tailed kitsune. "Help me!" cried the youngster in fright. "I'm trying!" Sonic replied. The claw made its way back to the hidden space, but was unable to go in entirely. Light colored arms pulled the mechanical claw outward meanwhile cerulean legs held the position from which they stood apart and pumped outward for more pulling strength. The claw continued in its attempt move in. The hedgehog gritted his teeth in frustration as sweat drops trickled onto his forehead. "I won't lose you, buddy!" Sonic moved his hands over the top of the claw and began splitting it into two which would release Tails.

Knuckles watched helplessly; he had a great urge to get up there, but his hands were too badly damaged at the moment. In this case, Rouge flew to the rescue. She waved her wings over the claw and assisted the blue hedgehog in pulling the fox free. Their hands simultaneously pulled the claw towards them with their combined strength. As soon as the claw started to loosen its grip, an unexpected electric shockwave passed through the claw, electrifying all those who were in contact of the claw's grip. The three screeched in pain, making Sonic and Rouge lose their grip and obey gravity.

The electrified fox weakly shouted his friend's name before disappearing into the wall. The hedgehog lifted himself up and watched the trace of his companion leave before his eyes. Sonic faced the wall with his hand extended outward and in a desperate cry shouted, "Tails, no!" That same hand shook vigorously, clenched into a fist, and then punched the floor. "Aargh!" Rouge lifted herself up slowly, "That creep! I bet you he's watching us and has been setting off these traps to lure us away from each other!" Knuckles watched as the bat crippled down back to her knees from the pain, but managed to catch her in her own fall. He placed one of her arms around his neck for her to hold her balance on. The white bat managed to accidentally make eye-contact with the red echidna and together they were stuck in a timeless realm for only a few seconds. Of course, that was until Rouge smirked then looked away.

"Rouge may be right," Sonic replied as he rose to his feet, "Guess that means we ought to watch out for signs that could trigger another trap." The two other companions nodded and decided to move forward with the hedgehog walking behind them.

The next few minutes were suspiciously quiet until Rouge convinced Knuckles that her strength had been regained. "Are you sure you can handle it?" asked the echidna. The glamorous bat fluttered her independent ego, "Hah! I don't need anyone to tell me otherwise!" As she took her first few steps, her legs began to waddle. "Rouge!" Knuckles hollered as he started making his way closer to her. The bat caught herself onto the wall, looked back and smiled, "See? I told you I could handle myself!" Suddenly, the wall she had caught herself on started to shift, making the conceited bat drop and fall into the pit in which the sliding door revealed. Both the hedgehog and the echidna ran to the rescue, but all they managed to catch was the cry of Rouge as she fell into an unknown abyss. The door had slid enough to capture its victim and seal itself in time to allow no one else in.

Sonic and Knuckles charged at the door at full force, but it refused to move. The echidna widened his eyes, "No way! It didn't even budge!" Sonic turned around and with his eyes started looking for anything that gave away their stance. In his failure to locate a camera or other device that could trigger their location, the hero yelled into the open air, "Mephiles! I know you can hear me! This isn't over! We will get our friends back! Mark my words! This isn't over!"

The view of the scene was that of a diagonal bird's eye view. The screen was revealed in black and white but with enough clarity to show what was going on. Mephiles summoned his son to his side, "Colvan! Come hither!" The boy approached the Dark, "Yes, father?"

"Have you made the preparations yet?" "No, I was on the verge-"

"I don't need your pathetic excuses! Go fuck off someone else's time!" Mephiles got up from his seat and walked away from the cameras, "I'll gut the girl myself…" As he walked past Colvan, the boy gulped, "Father," he said. "What do you want now?" questioned the annoyed being as he halted at his walk. "Uh, are you sure you don't need me to do it?" "You took long enough telling yourself not to, so no." The dark being continued to make his way into another room. The young boy followed his father, but took a quick peek at the cameras before leaving. He hoped that the prisoners were doing alright.

** Kitchen**

"For years I have taught you the recipe for the family gathering. How is it that you can't find it within yourself to complete your task?" Mephiles asked as he entered what appeared to be a large kitchen. The room held an aged stove, a large wooden cutting board table, cupboards located both high and low, a rusted sink, and an ice box that sat on top of a small wooden table at the far end of the room. A long wire held itself in place, suspended over the cutting board table-much like those you would find in butchery.

Mephiles went through a door beside the wooden table in the back and brought out the dead girl he had recently killed in front of Sonic and his friends. He placed her body over the cutting board table and took a knife from a mysterious knife holder. The holder was carved out of wood and shaped like a hand only with horizontal slots that looked more like stab wounds without knives in it. "Go on Colvan," said the mad character, "Do as I have told you otherwise I'll throw you in with the others!" The boy nodded and proceeded with his other errands without questions. Although the boy left by demand, he felt like a failure. However, is it failure when you don't do what you know is wrong?

Mephiles slowly inserted the serrated edged knife into the upper part of the breast of the female corpse. The blade swerved at the curve of the breast itself, digging no deeper than the beginning and ending at where it started; full circle. He then carefully removed the part of the breast which included the nipple and seized for the treasures inside. Because this breast was on the right side, the mad man seized for the heart and placed it alongside the nipple. Mephiles copied the same technique for the second breast, but without removing anything inside.

The next to go were the arms, legs, the lips from the cavity in between, and most importantly, the head. Now the head was the most important part. He disconnected the head from the neck with a strong butcher knife which cracked and broke the bones and disconnected the blood trails in between. He set it down on the side. Next, Mephiles chopped the hair off and cracked the skull to reach the brain. Once there, his hand seized for the brainstem and disconnected any veins or arteries or other bodily connections that prevented him from removing it. He placed the brain alongside the nipples and put the skull back together, although it was still visibly cracked. The limbs and vaginal lips of the victim had their parts removed thereafter. Following that were the eyes.

Mephiles meticulously carved the blue eyes out of the girl's sockets and disconnected the connections behind it. The eyeballs were rolled over to join the brain. The same knife then dug into the bruised abdomen. The slice he made started from the ending of the breast line and downward, where the hip bones were located. After doing so, he stretched the light-skinned stomach open. He placed two knives on both sides of the flaps, piercing them both onto the wrist of the victim so that the intestines would be easy to pick out. With his hands alone, Mephiles pulled out the large and small intestines, then blood spattered onto his chest, staining his fluffy white chest fur. After taking those out, he placed them with the eyes. With the same bloody hands, the dark being reached for the kidneys, spleen, liver and stomach and took those out as well. Finally, he went for his third knife and cut the lining where the tongue was part of the esophagus. From the mouth, Mephiles had to pull out the tongue. He shut his eyes closed and pulled as hard as he could on the tongue. More blood splattered onto his chest, face, and arms, but alas, he managed to remove what he needed.

Now, he was ready to organize his ingredients. Mephiles moved the eyes, tongue, brain, and meat portions from the limbs all together in one pile meanwhile the intestines and vital organs were placed in another and the remaining parts of the young lady were placed in a small garage bin. Colvan walked in just in time to notice the broken girl in the bin and did not hesitate to dispose of them. The boy walked down the hallway between the kitchen and the camera room, went passed the room where Sonic and the others once were and entered a hidden passageway where he was greeted by growls and the sound of rumbling tummies. This room was pitching black, but the boy was not in fear; he dumped the girl in front of the hidden beast and walked away with the bin.

Colvan returned the garbage bin to the kitchen and saw that his father was nowhere to be found. Nevertheless, he ran off to complete more errands.

-Back to Sonic & Knuckles-

The blue hedgehog and the red echidna had continued traveling along the same path, but remained cautious of every step they were taking. Suddenly, Knuckles heard something, "Hold on, Sonic!" he said as he himself froze in his tracks. Sonic stopped and looked over his shoulder to look at Knuckles. "Did you hear that?" The hedgehog tried to listen for the mysterious sound, then he picked it up. He gritted his teeth, "It might be a trap, stay close to me and try to keep up!" The hero raced down the path in a steady speed meanwhile the poor echidna struggled to not lose him, "You might try slowing down a little?!" Knuckles yelled. The hedgehog began slowing down and as the guardian was about to reach a closer distance, the hedgehog halted out of nowhere and stood in the red one's path, making Knuckles crash into our hero. The two rolled down together in a downward slope and stopped where it ended. When they landed, Knuckles found himself under the blue hedgehog, who was looking right at him with a big smile, "Wasn't that fun? We should do that again!" The echidna kicked the hedgehog off of him. He stood up and started shouting, "What's the big idea stopping in the middle of the road?!" Sonic stood up and replied in a relaxed tone, "I saw there was a slope, so I decided we should roll in together!"

"Are you insane?! We're in danger and you're thinking about fun ways to go down a hill!"

"Wanna go again?"

"No!"

"Okay, fine!"

"Don't you care about the situation we're in?"

"Of course I do! I just wanted to have some fun and besides, it made you catch up to me didn't it?" Sonic said with a smirk. Knuckles sighed, "Let's just find the others, alright?" The hedgehog smiled and made a thumbs-up, "Will do buddy!" "We're not buddies!" the echidna said in an agitated voice. They continued walking up the slope ahead while arguing along the way, "Okay, then friend!"

"I'm not your friend!"

"Partner?"

"I'm not your partner!"

"Comrad?"

"Ugh!"

-In another place-

Rouge and Amy found themselves enclosed in a large room. Apparently, when they were taken, the output lanes lead them to the same place. "Awe great! I'm stuck with the obnoxious pink girl!" Rouge said as soon as she found Amy. The hedgehog growled, "Who are you calling obnoxious you crazy old bat?!" "Old?! At least I'm not annoying!" "That's it! You're going down!" The two females charged at each other with the will to attack. Despite the bat's electrifying encounter, she could not allow herself to back down a challenge. Rouge charged up her legs and leaped up high for better coverage of attack meanwhile Amy whipped out her Piko Piko Hammer out of back and swung it forward to pound the bat backwards. A kick went to a face and a blow to the head was struck. Both girls fell to the ground and got up once more for another brutal attack, but before that could happen, a voice stopped them in their tracks. "Stop fighting!" cried the voice. Amy and Rouge looked over to where the voice had come from. It seemed to be emitting from a dark corner to the right of them.

Out of the darkness, someone crept out and to the girls' eyes, the figure of the stranger was coming to view, "Please…stop," repeated the stranger. They could determine from the voice that it was female but other than that the speech was feeble and broken. When the stranger came into the light, Rouge and Amy widened their eyes at the surprise. The stranger was still unknown to them, but it was her state that put them into shock.

This lady had dirty, messy and tangled blonde hair, reddening in her eyes from irritation, dark circles from lack of sleep, bruises from face to toe, scratches on both her arms, lesions on one leg, and a broken limb on the other. As she came towards the bat and the hedgehog, they witnessed her limping as she approached them. The lady dropped to the floor and looked at our feminine heroes in desperate expression, "You…you are all new, are you not?" 'New? New to what?" Amy asked. "Are you not a new prisoner of our master?" "Our master… you mean Mephiles?" The lady lifted herself up slightly and placed her hand over the hedgehog's mouth, "Shhh! You must not speak our master's name!" She took her hand off Amy, "But to answer your question, yes it is he." "Did he do this to you?"

The dirty lady looked no more than in her mid- twenties, but her condition made her appear much older. The young lady turned away, touched her hair and shivered, "Yes. I was so naïve to not please my master. You see, he took me at a very young age. He promised so much to me…he lied. The master always lies!" "What did he tell you?" Rouge asked as she placed her hand over her bruised arm., "If I may ask." The young lady hesitated before continuing on with her story,

"He said he would help me. My mother didn't want me and my father didn't want me. I was alone. He found me. He said he and his wife will take care of me."

"Mephiles lied to us too."

"He lies to everyone. He makes us his and satisfies his desires with us. We are not his children, we are merely slaves of his bidding. But I have no one, thus I am his servant."

"Hey! You have no reason to punish yourself like this!"

The stranger turned to look at the bat, "What do you expect me to do? Run away?" her voiced turned menacing and with each word was more ounce of hatred, "I am no one! No one knows me! This is my god-forsaken fucking life and I'm going to fuck with it because I was stupid! I made the choice! Thus I will do as told! I will be the perfect one…like I used to be." "You said you tried to please him and what do you mean by perfect?" questioned Amy. The stranger looked away again, "I-I am getting too old. But master will value me again when you whores all become used and abused as I was. Oh yes!" "Wait a minute, who are you calling a whore?!" Rouge exclaimed as she almost charged at the strange woman, but was stopped by Amy. "Master seeks out new flesh when people like me have grown old and boring. You whores take what I could be used for. Because master, although he has punishments, he knows I'm good. I'm very good when he wants me naughty!" She smiled at the two with her yellow rotten teeth showing, "Then when he gets them…he kills us. But he won't take me, because Master likes me!" She placed a hand over her lips and started to chuckle.

The hedgehog that was once known to being chipper and loving had been just the opposite since her arrival to the barn of the sinister sadist, Mephiles. Since Amy heard the young woman's story, her feelings had not changed for she knew of what malicious plots the mad being had for her. Rouge didn't grow fond of the lady after having been insulted indirectly. Instead she limped away whispering to Amy, "Don't pay mind, she's crazy!" "Y-you!" the young woman cried with a finger pointed at the pink one. Amy looked confused, but nonetheless she brought her attention to the woman again, "Yes?" Rpuge walked away from their conversation."You have seen the darkness of our master, have you not?" Amy looked down and nodded slowly. "My pity for you, child. Your innocence has been gravely apprehended and your smile is no longer of sunshine." Tears managed to escape her eyes, but she did not stop them. "Don't cry, child," said the stranger.

She turned around and took something out from under her dress. She passed the object to Amy after having passed it through her legs and feet and to the pink hedgehog's surprise, it was a filthy pair of white underwear. "It beats having nothing," said the stranger. Amy hesitated, "What are you doing?" "Honey, I know they're not the best kind, but unless you wanna keep leaving a cunt scent you might as well smother it with something! Besides, I can live without it." It took a few more minutes before the preppy female. As soon as she touched it, she squealed, but then placed them over her legs and under her dress. " "Thank you." The woman didn't say anything. Nevertheless, Amy turned around to find Rouge by the other side of the room next to a small wooden structure that held large metal hooks that were suspended by a large wooden plank above their heads.

The preppy female walked beside the bat and took a look around the place. Fear planted a seed within her and after she eyed rusted axes and leather whips that lied by the wall; fear sprouted a small seedling as she sensed that worse troubles were at hand. "What is he planning?" she asked herself in a soft whisper.

-Elsewhere-

A blue-eyed fox struggled to get his upper body to rise since his electrifying experience when he was captured. His knees waddled in place, but soon steadied enough for him to hold his stance and take a glimpse of his surroundings. The room was shaped in a strange T-shaped box. From where he stood, the walls beside him were made of the same material as the walls of the stalls back in the stable where everyone was chained up. Onward, Tails could see from the corner of his eye a metal chain-link fence and to the right, a barrel and old tires. "Sonic?" he called out. There was no response. "Sonic!" The fox went on to make his first step, THUD! The fox dropped back to the floor. He pulled himself upward on one knee, but getting his legs to hold him was becoming a drag. Afraid that he'd fall once more, he decided to crawl onward to the extension of the "T" where there were two sides to go. Upon turning to the left, the young fox widened his eyes at the sight of young boys trapped on the other side of the chain-linked fence.

Without hesitation, Tails crawled to the boys, "Hey! Are you guys alright?" he asked. The boys turned to the fox and gave him a blank stare. Tails stopped and took a good look at them-mostly their faces. These boys appeared to be about the same age as Tails, if not younger. Each boy was covered in dirt from head to toe, their hair held leaves and hay, the eyes held no expression with dark circles hanging underneath, and finally their clothes appeared slashed, torn, old, and dirty. Tails was in utter shock by the state of these children. He didn't know what to say until one blonde-haired boy asked in his British accent, "Have you come to rescue us?" "Of course not you bickering numbskull! He's probably stuck like the rest of us!" cried an older boy in the group. "If he was, he'd be here!" said the British boy, "Isn't that right, Mr. Fox?" Tails blinked, "Oh! My name's not Mr. Fox. I'm-" "No one gives a fuck who you are! You're dead and so are we! I doesn't matter!" yelled the older British boy. "Shut up, George! Let the nice boy speak! That's why Mephiles always picks on you, because you're so mean!" the younger boy turned his head to Tails,

"Go on Mr. Fox."

"Well, I'm Miles Prower, but everyone calls me Tails."

"Fancy to meet you Tails! My name is Lincoln," the boy pointed to George, "This is my brother, George. He hasn't been the same since we've been captured by Mephiles." Lincoln pointed to three other boys around his age, whom all had brown hair and eyes, turned to wave at Tails. "Then again, none of us have been the same since we were stolen." "What happened?" Tails asked Lincoln.

"We were all at the front lawns at our houses. Mephiles lied to us about a place he wanted to take us. Now we live in this ruthless life where every day is torture."

"How long have you been here?"

"I don't know."

"Haven't your parents searched for any of you?"

"No one knows where we are. He leaves no tracks, no way to lead to his lair."

George interrupted, "Hence the reason why we're all damned!" Tails growled, "Think the way you want, but I won't let you rot in here! I don't know what Mephiles has done to all of you, but it ends here! I'll find a way to free you all!" The younger boys looked up at the fox with an expression that appeared so long forgotten to them; one that showed hope. Tails turned to look for anything he could use to break into the fence. He crawled away, still struggling with the pain, and upon George noticing the fox's struggle, he laughed, "You want us to put our faith in you when you can't even stand! What a joke!" Tails smirked at the insult, twisted his tails and flew over to the barrel. The older boy dropped his jaw in awe.

"Let's see here," Tails looked inside the barrel and found only water inside-or was it? The tires were stacked right beside the barrel and behind the tires were whips made of cow hide, rusted black chains, and a long coiled rope. Blue eyes moved upward to the wall and there he spotted a rusted red door with urinal stains on the bottom. The fox hovered to the door in the attempt to open it, but when he pulled on the gold-colored handle, the door would not budge. "It must be locked from the inside," Tails thought aloud. He looked back to the trapped children then back at the door. This challenge proved difficult since the door was the only visible lead of getting out.

Suddenly, a chilling feeling surrounded the room. The room temperature had not changed, but there was a sense of discomfort that could be felt as cold and menacing. He looked at the ground and saw a shadow slide under the door, swerve across the floor, past the barrel, and across the fence. The eyes of the boys widened as if something penetrated their inner core. Lincoln lifted his head and spoke solemnly, "He is here." The shadow stopped behind the children and lifted from the ground in a liquid-appearing form. The black ooze started to form a body and slowly it formed Mephiles the Dark. Tails made haste in ducking behind the black tires in hopes the mad creature did not see him.

Tails' P.O.V.

"Ah, you're all still here? How convenient!" Mephiles said in a sarcastic voice. "Did you predict we'd be elsewhere?" Lincoln said. "Ha-ha, no. I just figured you'd all be dead by now. Besides, it's all thanks to George you're all still breathing, isn't that right, boy?" I didn't hear him reply. I wonder what Mephiles is referring to. "I say, if you're willing to comply, I'll let you all go, how's that?" I lifted my ears. I could not believe what he was saying. "What do you want?" George asked. "Someone came in here-a young foxy fellow to be exact," I gulped silently but continued to listen, "Where did he run off to?" "I don't know what you're talking about-" George was cut off from his response. I could hear the chain-link fence ringing and George's aching voice, "Stupid boy! I asked you where is he!" "I said I don't know!" He yelled in pain this time and Mephiles kept pressuring him to give him an answer. I was surprised to see that he was actually helping me hide my whereabouts. There was an urge inside of me that begged me to help him, but I knew inwardly that the best way to do that is to keep hiding. "Alright then, I guess persuasion is the only way to get you to speak up!" Mephiles said. I turned my head to look between the crease that formed in the tower of tires and the barrel. I could see that Mephiles had turned into his shadowy form. My eyes widened when George was sucked into the floor with the shadow as well. The boy cried out in rebellion and all I could do was watch in bitter shock. The shadow crossed the fence and reformed to it's original state with the kid underneath him.

The dark being pinned the boy down with one hand on George's back. I watched the boy bow his head before him, why? "Nu-huh," Mephiles snickered, "Open your mouth!" "What? N-no!" Without hesitation, he forced the boy's mouth to open. I was very confused as to what this mad man had in mind. I watched as something slowly slithered between his hips. It took me a while to notice what it was until he stuck it-oh my gosh! I turned my head away and covered my eyes. I could hear George choking and Mephiles moaning with every loss of breath. I felt like regurgitating. I i _needed_ /i to do something. I couldn't interpret what was going on behind me. I was filled with disgust as sickness swam around in my stomach. I could hear Mephiles laughing now and the children screaming to let George go. At that point, I remembered my promise to those boys. Without much thought I turned around, twirled my tails and shouted, "Leave those kids alone, sicko!"

Original P.O.V.

Mephiles pulled himself out of the boy's mouth and threw him aside. The poor boy afterwards heaved for hair and scratched his tongue with his dirty fingernails. Mephiles made his way towards the fox, "Ah! There you are! Won't you come here and replace this child? I'm sure a young one like you would be a great replacement for any of these!" Tails tried not to place that awful image in his innocent mind, "Listen you creep! Let those kids go or you'll be sorry!" "Bring it!" Mephiles challenged. The fox flew towards the barrel and knocked it over. "Kids, run!" Tails shouted. The children behind the fence rushed to the sides of the wall to lead way for the rushing liquid to flow. However as soon as it touched the dark being, his skin started to burn and soon he was forced to become a big blob of goo that sifted down to a shadow. The shadow then drifted back to the door. "I knew it wasn't water!" The fox exclaimed. After Mephiles had escaped, the boys cheered on their hero because not only did the liquid base scare off the dark creature, but it also helped clear out a way through the chain-linked barrier. The children made way to watch their step and went onto the other side. "You saved us, Mr. Fox!" cried one of the boys. Tails grinned happily, "I told you I wouldn't leave you behind!"

Lincoln smiled at the fox, but then dropped it to a frown. He pointed the wall and shouted, "Look out behind you, Tails!" The flying kitsune looked back, but before he could make a move, he was tackled by Mephiles and together they crashed onto the floor. "You little prick!" the dark being punched Tails in the face multiple times until Lincoln bravely attempted to shake him off of Tails. Of course, Mephiles easily got rid of the rat on his back and all the others who ended up getting on him. Even George's pouncing on the dark creature proved pointless. With the fox's face now left bruised and bloody, Tails yelled to the others to run to the door. Luckily for them, Mephiles had left the door unlocked this time, allowing the boys to escape, but on purpose?

Mephiles managed to turn the fox around with another swift hit. He then reached for the twin tails, lifted them up, and smiled, "I guess you already know what happens this time!" Tails yelped and rebelled against Mephiles' grip but was powerless to make any chances of escape. He tried to propel his tails, but before he could get them to do so, the dark being happily thrusted himself into the young fox. Tails screamed in agony. He grabbed the fence in front of him and used that to pull away from his attacker, but this action only made the situation more entertaining for the malicious creature. As he would push, Tails would pull out until the madman pleased himself well enough to excrete semen into his victim's entrance. The pain was so overwhelming that the fox was left paralyzed after the horrific defeat.

-Somewhere Else-

The pink hedgehog sat down on the ground and watched the terrorized woman rock back and worth as she whispered something to herself. The hedgehog thought the woman's behavior was a bit frightening and she hoped within herself that she would not wind up with her same mentality. Rouge took her wings to flight, however in doing so, she felt a large weight over her shoulders, so she settled back to the ground. Her aquamarine eyes surveyed the area for any cracks that she could break through. "If Mephiles were to try coming here, he would at least have to leave some sort of door for him to come in and not be trapped here with us," the female bat said aloud. Amy looked at Rouge and she thought about her statement. 'How would Mephiles get in here?' she questioned in her mind. "You!" Rouge cried as she faced the broken woman. It took a few shouts before the filthy stranger recognized that the calls were towards her, "What?" "Where does your 'so called master' come in from?" The stranger pointed to the wall across from where Rouge stood, "Master lurks in his lair and comes out from that direction," she paused, "but I haven't seen him in days." Rouge and Amy quickly turned their attention to the only exit and entrance they knew would exist in the room. The energetic hedgehog quickly made her way to the wall, placed her hands on it and began searching for a door that could be hidden under the wooden surface. Rouge stepped forth to help the pink hedgehog by pressing on the wooden planks in hopes that one would creak more than the others. Naturally, the glamorous bat would have kicked down all the boards to escape, but when she pressed on the wooden surface of the wall, she could sense something evil lurked behind it that would provoke perhaps a deadly trap.

After minutes of frustrating searches, the pink hedgehog turned to the stranger, "Are you sure he'd come through this way?" The woman nodded slowly, and then returned to her odd behavior. The pink hedgehog took a look at the wall. Dried yellow weeds clawed the wooden walls that appeared to be made of a hard type of material not found in common areas. It appeared that perhaps these walls were built by hand by the trees of the forest that lurked not far from the barn. Nonetheless, she didn't believe they could be too strong for her frustration to escape. In the act of emotion, Amy whipped out her Piko Piko Hammer and as soon as she was about to strike, the white bat stopped her, "Wait, Amy, do you feel that?"

"Feel what?"

"Touch the planks. It feels as if something was breathing on the other side."

"I already know what this wall feels like and all I can tell is that there is nothing but empty space behind it! So move aside!"

"Can't you at least hear it? It sounds like a small growl."

"It's probably your nerves! Now move or I'll bash your arm off!"

The bat moved aside and stepped back cautiously; afraid of what lurked behind the wooden material. Amy swung at the wooden wall at full force; tearing the front layer into pieces and revealing what it hides underneath. To the pink hedgehog's surprise, what hid behind it was an awful sight. What lied under the wood was a fence that held wild dogs with razor sharp canine teeth, drool that hung over their muzzle that was as thick as milk and eyes that had been blinded by the darkness. Beside them was a large bucket stained with blood and the room itself wreaked of death. The wild dogs had stained matted fur and dirty claws filled with dirt. Amy dropped her hammer and ran off to where Rouge was. Both of the girls stared at the fierce beasts before them. There were several of these animals hidden behind the chain-linked fence and all of them could smell the terror that sweated out of their bodies. "I told you not to do that!" Rouge cried. Amy couldn't respond, but guilt certainly reached her after not heeding the adult bat's warning.

The animals growled, sniffed, and barked at the fresh meat on the other side of the fence and pretty soon they would climb onto the fence with their claws locking onto the fence in order to stand. These animals hungrily sniffed for the delicious smelling morsels they were sure to feast on. After a few moments, Rouge stood up and started to walk towards the animals, "Rouge! Get back here!" Amy cried aloud. "No! That door has got to be here somewhere!" One dog tried to sniff the white bat and of course the glamorous female didn't appreciate the attention so she slapped the beast in the face, calling it, "a grotesque monster". The dogs continued to bark and growl at Amy as well and just as she got the courage to stand up to the fierce animals, something stopped her. Rouge brushed aside a portion of the wooden planks that had been loosely removed and alas! The door had been located. It was quite small, but sufficient to sneak in a person on their own.

Rouge smirked and turned to announce the news, when suddenly her world disappeared into the darkness.

-Several Minutes Later—

Rouge woke up feeling rather drowsy and not-well focused on her surroundings. Everything appeared blurry in sight and a small voice had passed before her ears could pick up what was being said at a normal volume. "Rouge! Rouge!" Amy would cry out. After the eyelids of the bat began to flutter, her vision began to clear and soon the blurry pink and red figure in front of her transformed into Amy. "Rouge! Thank goodness you're awake!" The young hedgehog smirked before Rouge closed her eyes once more to enhance her vision precisely. She soon noticed that her arms were not available to her for they were restrained by some force above her. Rouge looked up to find that her hands had been chained above her head and Amy was left the same way as well. "Ugh! What happened?" questioned the confused bat. "Not sure. I woke up like this and I saw you were asleep in front of me. I've been trying to wake you up ever since," she paused, "I was afraid you'd never wake up." The bat pouted, "You really think I'd go down so easily do you? Well it'll take a lot to get rid of me!"

"Well I can see where Knuckles and you build your rivalry from; you're both so confident in yourselves."

"Get you head out of the clouds! He's a liar and a fraud. You should know the day he decided to comfort you behind my back!"

"What do you mean?"

"I know about how he got close to you and what not. Yes, he's oh-so masculine, but that doesn't mean he should be replacing your Sonic because the other doesn't want you!"

"Hey! First of all no one will ever replace my hero! Even if he has no feelings for me, I'll love him the same!"

"Then explain what Knuckles was doing so close to you?"

"He was trying to help me. You alone should know that echidna drives me insane sometimes because he doesn't understand emotions!"

Rouge gave a confused expression, "So, nothing happened?" "No, Rouge! You know better than anyone that Sonic the Hedgehog has been my only interest out of anyone and it would take a lot more than a broken me to change that!" "So…what did he do?" "We talked and he dried my tears. That's it! Even touching me was a difficult thing for him to do and I could tell he wasn't getting emotional about it. He was just trying to be a good friend." The bat didn't know how to react. Should she believe the #1 fan girl of the blue-hero? Suddenly, the sound of a squeaking door brought the attention of the girls to their left side and there stood Mephiles the Dark, coming out from the hidden door. "Oh how touching for you both to cooperate; that'll prove worthy later. If there's one thing that I reveal to you all is that appearances can be deceiving." From behind his quills, he took out an envelope and tore it open from the side. He removed the contents of the envelope and placed them into his left hand. He walked slowly up to the girls and showed them what he had hidden; photographs. Both females widened their eyes upon seeing what these pictures contained. "Those are the-" Mephiles cut into the bat's response, "Yes! Who else could have sent such discrete photos of your loved ones in… interesting ways?" "Why? Why would you take these?" Amy asked. "That doesn't matter. Are your eyes not satisfied in knowing the truth about each other?" "We don't need someone as sickening as you to tell us about each other," she paused, "That was your plan wasn't it? You wanted us to become separated!" Mephiles put the photos back in the envelope and hid them in his quills. "All I wanted was the hedgehog," he walked over to the wall and reached for the whip, making Amy tense her muscles, "The rest of you are for fun." The pink hedgehog widened her eyes, "Wait, what are you planning to do to him?"

He ignored her and looked at the two animals that were suspended by the chains. His eyes moved farther and there he took recognition of the female stranger, "Ah! My loyal servant! I'd like to thank you for your honorary attempt in assisting me put away these precious girls." Rouge and Amy turned their heads and saw that the young woman had been suspended over the floor as well, but on the contrary to them, she had a wide smile pressed on her face. "It was my pleasure, master!" said the woman. "You're the one that knocked us out?" Rouge cried, "I should've known you weren't on our side!" "I serve my master. All others come last," commented the woman. Mephiles brought his hands an inch apart and started to glide over one and the other in a circular motion. Soon, a purple-smoke filled plasma ball warped from his hands and launched outward to release the woman who was bonded by the chains above her head. The chains broke causing the woman to be freed; she ran to her master and bowed before him, "What is your will, master?" she said obediently. "Hey!" Amy yelled, "You haven't answered my question!" Mephiles turned his view to Rouge and Amy, "Sayah, teach the prisoners my expectations." "Yes," The woman complied and turned towards the captives, "You are to obey master and do as he desires. Only then will your lives be spared." The female bat could not help but chuckle, "Don't be ridiculous! You practically worship your master and for what? So he could treat you like a pet and then have you teach us so we can wind up like you? Not a chance!" Sayah frowned meanwhile Amy appeared alarmed after hearing Rouge's statement, but nonetheless, she decided to side with her, "You won't get a single agreement with me unless I know what you've got against Sonic! So answer me!" Inwardly she feared what Mephiles could do to her companion after her inexcusable protest. "I don't have to breathe a word of explanation to you," Mephiles replied, "Will you comply with my demands?" "Never!"

"Fair enough," replied the sadistic hedgehog, "If you won't listen to me," he loosened the whip with a whirl, twirled the tail with his gloved hand gripped tightly at the handle, then extended his forearm to commence his attack. Sayah quickly turned the bat around and positioned her where her back would be exposed to the incoming impact. Rouge muttered grotesque words to Sayah, but it had no effect. The sound of a feminine yelp followed the sound of the whip striking a surface. Amy winced as she watched Rouge take the first whipping. The bat attempted to use her body weight to maneuver far enough to make an attack with her legs, but then she realized that her legs were bonded by a rope; however the pink hedgehog was not. Had Mephiles known about the bat's skills beforehand?

The whipping continued on and Rouge had no way of suppressing the pain, so all she could do is was bite her lip unless the slash was too great that she had to yell. Amy, having to watch all of this, started to weep. After the whipping stopped, Mephiles questioned the bat, "Are you ready to comply?" The bat smirked, "Is that the best you can do?" The dark being turned the bat around so that they were face to face. From there, he stared into the glamorous eyes of the female bat and smirked, "You're a tough bitch!" Suddenly, the dark moved his hand against Rouge's face, slapping her pretty hard. After the slap, Rouge continued to keep her confidence. The slap grew into merciless punching of the face and stomach in just a few seconds; blood spilled from her mouth, spattered into the air, and landed on the dark's face. The dirty female laughed as Rouge was getting battered by her master. The master then stopped and looked at the bat to see if anything changed.

Rouge looked up with one eye refusing to open, smirking with her lips smeared with her own blood, and breathing with a nose smelling the red fluid stuck in her airway. Mephiles gave the bat a questionable expression, but Rouge refused to give in, so in return, the bat breathed inwardly through nose but passing the air through her throat causing the blood to accumulate with her saliva and meeting at the larynx. The clever bat spat on the sadist's face between the eyes, smiling at her actions. The sadist wiped off the spit and moved his feet backward, "You have paved your way through your own punishments," he said. With the same whip, Mephiles twirled it above his head and wacked the bat's legs. "Gaaah!" she cried. He wacked her again with every whiplash making a stinging sound and a cry that followed. Rouge could feel tears forming under her eyes, but she could not afford to let them fall; doing so would show weakness and that could prove fatal. It was difficult to keep the tears back and alas, she could not. The pain she was enduring was so great that the last whipping shook her body, causing the tears to fall on their own. They dropped down slowly, taking the make-up under eyes with it. Dark smears of eyeliner clawed the bat's face. Rouge closed her eyes to the embarrassment of having this appearance of weakness, but what could she do? Mephiles smirked and winded the whip back up. He walked over to Rouge, "Not so tough are you now?" Rouge gave him a dirty look, and then closed her eyes once more. He put a hand over the bat's face to clear away her tears, but Rouge turned her head away anytime the mad creature would place a hand over her face.

"Don't you see that my way is the best to follow?" "You liar!" Mephiles turned around and looked at Amy, the one who allegedly called him a liar. "Your way always ends the same way for everyone; you getting the upper hand. You have no mercy, you have no heart, you're full of lies and you've deceived people to get what you want! Not us, Mephiles, you'll have to kill us before you can get anything freely from us!" The dark one laughed, "You have a fighting will, Amy. But your words don't speak for everyone." He turned around and looked towards Sayah, who stood silently in awaiting his command, "Fetch me the mallet," he commanded. The woman ran off towards her hiding place a few yards from the girls and returned to Mephiles with the tool in her hands. "I have not your mallet, but I think you'll find this just as entertaining!" Amy's eyes widened, it was her Piko Piko Hammer!

"Hold her," Mephiles said. Sayah quickly went behind Rouge and held the bat firmly. "Let me go!" The white bat cried as she struggled the best she could. He brought the hammer behind his head and swung quickly at Rouge's legs. "NO!" cried the white bat before the mallet hit her defenseless legs. The force placed on the swing of the hammer crushed Rouge's legs causing the bat to scream from the massive pain she was enduring, "GAHH!" More tears accumulated under her eyes and dropped instantly down her face. The pink hedgehog cried, "Rouge!" In her anxiousness to help, she swung her weight forward and kicked the malicious being on his back. Mephiles slowly turned and was welcomed by another kick, but this time to the face! Dark green eyes widened at the surprise attack, but as soon as she tried to swing at him once more, he grabbed her legs while they were in mid-air. "No! Let me go!" The dark dropped the hammer and formed another purple sphere in his unoccupied hand. The sphere destroyed the hold of the chains that kept Amy up, thus causing her to fall into Mephiles' arms. The female hedgehog resented her position and pulled away from the dark creature, fell to the ground, and tried to quickly run away. The dark being seized for Amy's legs and dragged them to the farther side of the room. "N-No! Keep your hands off of me!" "I'm afraid I can't. You see, I'm feeling rather…needy." "NO!" Amy screamed as she tried to grasp the floor but all she managed to get a hold of was dirt and leaves. "Rouge!" she cried with a helpless expression and a hand extended outward as if reaching for an invisible hand.

"Mephiles, you sick bastard! Let her go now!" Rouge yelled with a raging tone. The sadist didn't bother to respond, instead he ordered Sayah to hold the hedgehog steady meanwhile he went to get the bat. The sadist made sure to bring Rouge down without removing the restraints on her wrists. He pushed the white bat down and kicked her on the legs where her quadriceps ached and one of the places where her bones broke. Rouge made another cry of pain before Mephiles dragged her towards Amy's location. Her legs were powerless to make any movement, so she tried getting her hands freed from the chains until she noticed that they were tightly linked to her wrists. "Let me go!" she used her upper body strength to pull Mephiles backward, but the whipping and beating she endured made her too weak to carry on doing so.

Alas, the two girls were placed together side-by-side. "I'll start with you, bitch. You have a runny mouth, let's see if I can get it to shut up!" He dragged Rouge by the legs, which of course was incredibly painful for her, but nothing compared to what he hand in store for her. Amy looked up, widened her eyes and spoke silently, "No, not you." She then raised her voice, "No!" She set off to follow Rouge, however Sayan's arm lock on the girl's legs wouldn't allow it. Mephiles pushed the bat's arms over her head as he smiled evilly. Amy and Sayan watched as the sadist took advantage of the adult's weakened state. The pink hedgehog continued to pull forward, but nothing worked. The hedgehog felt completely helpless against the evil that lurked in the room. In her grief, she turned away, cried silently, and covered her ears the best she could, but nothing could evade the sound of the adult's cries and the sadist's mix of moans and laughter as he undressed, grasped, bit, and raped her. The same things that Amy knew would happen to her very shortly.

-Elsewhere—

As Sonic and Knuckles continued along the path, they were startled to find themselves back in the same place they started-where they had been dropped. The echidna frowned as he crossed his arms over his chest, "Just great! We were going in circles and it's all thanks to you!" The blue hedgehog pointed towards himself,

"Me? How come I get the blame? You and I were following the same path!"

"Well maybe if we didn't roll down that hill, we may have seen a door of some sort!"

"Oh c'mon! You and I both know that's not true. I kept an eye out for traps and doors and not a single one was in sight!"

"For all I know, all you were doing was having fun!"

"Can't lie to you about that, Knucklehead, but really, I was watching!"

The echidna turned around, still aggravated about being lost, "Hmph!" Sonic placed his arms by his side and for a moment, he stared at the red echidna. The way he just said that last word, his body position and ignorance to listen anymore…Shadow. Knuckles' actions reminded the blue hedgehog of his distant significant other. In the trance of memories, he recalled thinking about just how silly the black hedgehog would appear doing that; disagreeing much like a silent stubborn child. Sonic couldn't help now but think and wonder about Shadow.

What was he doing?

Sonic hadn't managed to contact the black hedgehog in a while and this made the cobalt one question of Shadow had in fact believed that something must be wrong. i '_I need to a way to contact him;'/i Sonic thought, i'Alert him of my whereabouts and situation and most of all…hear his voice.'/_i

The red echidna hollered to something at a distance, snapping the blue hedgehog back to reality. Blue ears picked up the words from the echidna, "Hey you! Get back here!" Sonic watched Knuckles run off back to the enlightened trail that Amy paced through in the beginning. The blue blur rushed over past the echidna to see if he could spot the one that caught Knuckles' attention. Green eyes sought a young shadow running faster, but the actual runner was still not in sight. He picked up the pace and stopped at where the pink hedgehog had been taken and there he spotted a familiar face. Knuckles eventually caught up and tackled the young boy in front of them. The boy was thrown to the wall with the echidna heaving over his body, Sonic walked over to the scene. "Your father's not here to protect you anymore from me!" Knuckles growled, he stood up and threatened the boy with his sharp fist.

Suddenly, before the hot echidna could strike, Sonic rushed through a small space where he managed to squeeze in and save the youngster. The echidna's fist pounded the floor full of leaves, hay, and dirt. Knuckles turned around, "What are you doing, Sonic?" "You weren't really gonna hurt this innocent kid were you?" "That child is the son of your enemy! It's only fair we return him the favor!" Knuckles grinned and cracked his menacing knuckles as he underlined those last few words. The hero put the child down, but still held him from escaping, "No, Knuckles. Don't you think hurting him will only make our enemy even worse?" The boy, which happened to be Colvan, looked to Sonic and replied, "I thank you, sir for saving me from a nasty being, however, whatever you do to me will not alter father's plans. I am only his servant, hardly a son." The echidna continued to grin, "Well in that case, there's no problem in getting a few punches at him!" Colvan nodded, "That would be most unwise." "Yeah, that's what I said!" Sonic said happily. "You shut up!" the red head snapped to the hero. Colvan continued, "I am not saying for the sake of my innocence, I say to save your energy for my father and what games he has in store for all of you. I was in charge of luring you both here to play the game." "What game?" Sonic asked in a more serious tone. The boy didn't speak, but he signaled them both to accompany him. Without questions, the hedgehog and the echidna followed the boy through a passageway that had been camouflaged not to far from where Rouge had been taken. The room was located in the wall with a leather-based cover with the same ground material to hinder its existence.

Colvan entered first with Sonic and Knuckles following. Green and purple eyes widened after viewing enormity of the entire room. Who could have imagined that such a small entryway would hold four water wells? A small light bulb was flickered above the four wells with two moths swarming around it. "What is this place?" Sonic questioned. Colvan stopped moving forward and allowed the two rivals to gaze at the complex structures in front of them. He pulled out of his gray dirty pockets two syringes ad replied, "This is where the game starts…" Before the echidna could turn around, the boy launched his arm over the back of the echidna's neck, plunged the small needle into the red collarbone as he pressed the syringe's contents with his opposable thumb. Knuckles'first expression was the sharp pain in his neck and soon his body went numb and the next thing he knew, he had fallen to the ground in a deep slumber. Sonic turned towards the red echidna and widened his eyes at seeing him on the floor. He decided to run to him, however from the corner of his eyes, spotted Colvan and instinctively he dashed backward to avoid the boy, who had the syringe visible in his hand. "What are you doing?!" the hero cried. "I'm sorry Sonic," the boy said as he approached the hero. Sonic continued to back away as the boy continued to get closer. Pretty soon, the blue hedgehog found himself cornered to the wall-in a 90 degree angle that it. Green eyes widened as Colvan made his way closer and closer with every step. "You don't have to do this! You're against your father and you hate what he does! I can help you go against him!" cried the hero, in hopes of changing the boy's heart. The boy nodded, "There is no hope left." His arm extended the forearm with the thumb already locked in place. Was Sonic going to get the drug treatment too? Not a chance! The blue hedgehog watched everything in a slow movement, focusing on the rate of the boy's hand and at the right timing, he grasp the boy's wrist and pushed it back with enough force that the child was thrown back a few feet; enough space for the hedgehog to get away. As he ran passed the narrow exit, he remembered that Knuckles was still unconscious so he quickly dashed back to check on his status. The echidna had fallen face flat on the floor, so he flipped his robust body over and placed two fingers over the echidna's neck, seeking a pulse. Seconds passed…thump! Sonic traced the heartbeat, the echidna was still alive. The hero sighed in relief. The sound of leaves moving caught his attention so he got up and made 90 degree turn, where Colvan was visibly getting up and putting away the syringe. The two looked at one another until the boy broke the silence, "You really think we can go against my father?" "I don't see why not?" Sonic added. The boy looked down, "Your friend is in a sedated state, so he will not be awakened until much later. I'm sorry I scared you off like that." Sonic made his way slowly to the young boy, but kept a cautious distance, "Hey! It's alright. It's not easy to break such as viscious cycle. If you can help my friends and I escape, you can come with us!" The boy looked up, his eyes filled with clogged up tears,

"Really? But how?"

"You said yourself that he doesn't care about you. I guess he wouldn't mind then if you came with us!"

"But father, he would-he would…"

"Don't let that scare you from doing what's right."

"What about my mother?"

"What mother?"

"She is not well with father…can she come too?"

The hero grinned, "I don't see why not!" Colvan's tears rolled down his soft light-colored cheeks from the intense emotion. He ran towards the hedgehog, knelt down, and brought his arms around our hero for a hug. Sonic stood there in surprise and was unsure if he ought to return the embrace. The boy's tears moistened Sonic's shoulder, making the hero feel a bit sympathetic. Although Shadow's embrace was much more meaningful to Sonic, this boy's pain was making him feel the need to be held for some unknown reason. Sonic started to remember the hold of the black and red hedgehog…his warmth, his scent, his touch. Without considering reality, the hero wrapped his arms around the boy to comfort him, but inwardly missing that of his dark companion. "I'm so sorry, Sonic." The boy muttered in the hero's shoulder. Suddenly, a surging pain shocked the hero out of his delusion and grasp from the boy's body. Colvan walked backward with his hand holding an empty injection nozzle. Sonic knelt to the ground, his body felt weakened all of a sudden and his eyes started to feel heavy. He tried to keep himself awake and just before collapsing, he thought he heard the sweet sound of the ultimate life form calling his name.

-About 1-2 hours later-

Sonic's P.O.V.

I opened my eyes from what felt like a very long nap. I blinked a couple of times and find out that my vision had been flipped upside down-including my body. I looked down, or well up, and I saw that my whole body was being suspended by my ankle being strapped to a restraint with a rusted old lock that appeared to only have one of opening-a key. I looked downward or below me and I was surprised to find that my body was being held over one of the water wells with a whole body of water underneath me! I tried pulling myself up, adjusting the lock or squeezing my ankle through the loop, but the restraint was very well pressed to my size. I dropped back down and looked around to see if anyone else was in my condition. I saw Knuckles on was also positioned the way I was, but he was still fast asleep. I tried calling out his name to wake him up, "Hey Knucklehead! Wake up!"

No response.

I tried again, "Knuckles! Get up already!" I saw his body move a bit, so I continued calling out by making noise, "Hey Knuckles! You're alive! You look like a nice piece of meat hanging for the feast! Hehe, get it? Hanging!" I could see him waking up now, yes! He nodded sideways then looked around, "Hm..what? Where am I?" he turned to me and asked me what he just muttered. "That kid drugged both of us. The restraints are holding us upside down and I don't see a key that can get us out." Knuckles took a look around himself and noticed something in the well, "Hey, Sonic!" he said, "Isn't that a key down there?" I looked back down at the deadly-looking water that appeared to smile at me. As I moved around the best way I could to see the bottom, I managed to see something small and thin. It didn't look like a key, but it had to be! Right beside the small object was a dark object much larger than the supposed key, I wonder what it's for?

"Hello?" I heard a voice say. It was certainly not Knuckles' because his was very deep in comparison to the one I heard. "H-hello?" it said again. "Hello?" I replied. "Who's there?" cried the voice. It appeared to be coming from the well across from me, but then another voice much lower also rose from Knuckles' side, where there was another water well. Except there was no one hanging like us. "My name is Sonic," I said. The voice responded,

"Sonic…Sonic the Hedgehog?"

"Yes! That's me!"

"My goodness! I'm Timothy, how are you?"

"Alright, I'm just hangin' here. What about you?"

Knuckles then bombarded the conversation, "Enough already! We can chitchat later after we get out of here!" The other voice in the well agreed with the red head, "Yeah! What he said!" I rolled my eyes then I noticed something rather odd that was picking up in my left ear. I heard a scratching noise and soon the room was filled with the voice of none other than Mephiles' son, Colvan:

"Hello everyone. I apologize for the senseless actions that needed to be taken previously. Measures were taken to ensure all players of the game would be present."

Knuckles growled, "Yeah! Some measures!"

"Since you are all here, it's time to start the game. In each of your wells are keys to ensuring your exit from this room. Some of you are strapped from the ankle upward and others of you are in the depths of the well itself. None of you have the keys to your own locks, rather your partner is the one who holds it. To define partner, the opposite of your position is your partner."

Knuckles continued to complain, "Great…"

"Hangers must reach down their own wells to retrieve the keys below. When they go down there, there will be a pulley down below. Reach for it to get your fallen partner to rise up from their well thus having them throw your key to you. Both the fallen and the hangers will continue to be in opposite directions so use both your skills to retrieve both keys that will ensure both you and your partner's safety. Good luck."

The microphone turned off. I noticed during his speech that his voice had been projecting from the speakers that were placed at each corner of the room. I looked across from myself and then down at the water. "There's no way I'm going down there!" I said. Knuckles growled at me, "Don't start your aquaphobic talk! Just do what you have to." I looked back down at the water. I really didn't want to get anywhere near it. Just the idea that my whole self was hovering over it was just so...uncomfortable! Then I heard the voice coming from the well across from me. It sounded like someone fairly young, "Please, Sonic! It's dark in here and I'm hungry!" Knuckles looked to me, then to his partner's well, "Hey, partner, what's your name?" "My name?" the voice responded with the same age sounding tone. Knuckles continued,

"Yes, I'm Knuckles"

"I'm Jon."

"Alright Jon, tell me how great your throw is."

"I can't throw very well."

The echidna rolled his eyes, "Just great!" He tried to think up of a solution, "Okay, Jon, hold onto that key and don't lose it! I'll toss you your key yours from my side, you'll unlock yourself and then run over here with my key, got it?" "Okay, Knuckles! Hurry! I don't do well in confined spaces!" The red head looked to me with a face that I could well understand what it meant. I looked around and felt my emotions as well as my body swell up and numb. I gulped and spoke aloud,

"Timothy, I'm going to dive in and do the same as Knuckles, alright?"

"I can throw!" "

Alright then, throw me the key when you're out and then I'll throw yours down."

"Gotcha!"

I lifted my head upward to clear my headache and prepare for the dive. I closed my eyes and started to think of peaceful thoughts that would drown out my fear and the first to come into mind: Shadow. I don't know exactly why, but the thought of him made me forget everything for just a moment. In my head, I imagined his eyes were staring into mine. His face came closer…so close that I could feel him exhale slowly. Before I could remember the way his kiss took my breath away, I got a loud yell from the echidna, which had started pressuring me about saving myself. I opened my eyes and looked down to the water. I dropped my head and as soon as I was about to launch my legs forward to jump in, I couldn't make myself breathe naturally, my body tensed up, and my legs refused to move. "C'mon Sonic! Go for it!" I heard the echidna cry.

"I can't! My legs won't move!"

"Don't make me get over there and push you down myself!"

"I seriously can't! This is too much! You know how much I hate going underwater, I can drown!"

"Sonic, take a deep breath and go in. Hold onto the pulley so you don't sink; do it fast and you'll be out before you know it!"

"No! I-I can't!"

"Sonic the Hedgehog! You get your water-phobic ass down there or I'll make you sit there longer with my fist gripping your throat!"

"You go first! I'll wait until you're free, then I'll go!"

"No!"

"Well why don't you go first?"

"Both of you shut up and get on with it!" I heard Timothy shout from the well, "Just do it, Sonic!" Suddenly, there was a rumbling sound coming from the ground and a tense vibration that followed. The next thing I knew, Timothy yelled, "Ah! The well is filling up with something!" I looked to Knuckles who quickly signaled me to dive in quickly. "Go Sonic! Now!" he yelled. Instinctively, my hero acts kicked in and I was soon diving into the water below. I was no expert swimmer, but I at least knew kicking and keeping my arms ahead of me was sufficient for going down. My eyes caught a glimpse of the dark spot below and I was right, that was the key and the pulley was right . I took the key and in one hand and used the other to grab hold of the pulley. I pulled myself back with my hand on the pulley to see how far up to the surface I could reach. Sadly, this mechanism only allowed me to move a couple of feet up, the rest was up to the boy in the well. Despite being underwater, I could still hear Timothy calling my name. I looked up and saw something drop into the water, it was a rock. I wasn't sure how that got there, but my guess was that it was a test shot. I wanted to go up to the surface and tell him that the throw was a success, but I couldn't risk putting him back down.

That was until I realized that I didn't grasp air into my lungs when diving. Before I could logically make a decision, I dropped the pulley's end and made my way back up. The restrain I had on made sure I was pulled upward when I wasn't holding onto the rope of the pulley. I forcefully had to drop the boy back down to gasp for air. When the pulley that my foot was connected to pulled me upward, I was relieved. Then I looked ahead and called out to my partner, "Hey! I got your rock!" "Okay!" He said aloud, "I'm throwing the key so hurry up and unlock yourself then throw my key!" "I already have your key!" "Then give it to me!" I swung back and forth, determining with my eyes the best time to throw the key, but as I did this, I started to feel dizzy, so I ceased my actions and nodded, "I think it would be better for you to throw the key and I hand you back yours so you don't get them confused." "Do what you want! Get me out of here!" I breathed inwardly as hard as I could and looked towards the water. I could hear the machines buzzing below that were producing the cement into my partner's well. There was no time to waste! I jumped into the body of water and swam back down to the pulley. I grabbed hold of it and awaited for the key. I could hear Knuckles yelling about something, but I didn't hear my name. I figured he must have been addressing either of the ones trapped in the wells.

I was floating in the middle of the well, sustaining to this rope without a sign of action. I wonder what was taking that boy so long. Suddenly, a splash gained my attention and a glowing object was slowly falling from the surface. I caught it with the same hand that held my own key meanwhile the ther was in charge of the rope. I opened my palm and saw that the two keys were identical. I bent my body in half and worked one of the keys to unlock my shackle.

The first one didn't work.

Okay, so I proceeded with the next key. The fact that I had to hold onto the rope made the task much more difficult. I placed the key into the lock and started to turn, but for some reason, the key slipped and dropped. Not into my hand, but merely slipping by it and down to the fullest depth. I followed it and managed to get it back. Perhaps I ought to unlock myself in the surface. When I was going to rise again, I heard Knuckles calling. I listened the best I could with water swimming in my ears, but there was still no indicated need of my presence. I worked my way up with my keys in my hand and the pulley in another until I was forced to drop the pulley. My body was once again above the surface within minutes. I turned to my side and saw that Knuckles had gone down already. I took out the key that Timothy gave me, bent my body once more, and put the key inside the lock. "Would you mind sending me my key down by any chance?" cried Timothy impatiently. I looked back at the keys and picked out the one that I found in the well. I tried swinging forward and back again to get a better coverage of space. The nausea seeped in once more, so I closed my eyes and wished for the best. With those last few actions, I tossed the key from my hand and to the well. I slowly opened an eyelid, "Did I get it in?"

I could hear Timothy panicking, "The key! You threw it but now it's in the cement. Save yourself, I'll find the key!" I bent my body back to continue unlocking myself. I twisted my wrist to the left and went around the whole way once. At that point I ought to have been released, the key got stuck. I pulled on the key with no luck. "Gah!" I cried. I pulled on the chains and on my foot, hoping I could do something to be set free. "Sonic!" I turned around, "Timothy!" I shouted back. "I can't find it!" "My key is stuck!" "What is this?!" I heard an echo pound from the well as it vibrated throughout the whole room, "Shit!" I heard him say. I went back to my key, hoping I could still help. I figured I ought to first take the key and re-do the entire process to make the entrance easier to navigate through. I took out the key and tried once more. I heard Knuckles rise from the water. He sounded exhausted when he shouted to his partner, "Hey! How's the key coming?" Soon after, the room was greeted by yet another vibration. Just what was going on in here? I heard Knuckles' partner scream, "Knuckles! Get me out! Get me out of here!" Knuckles appeared to be quite concerned in hearing Jon call out in desperation, "What's going on down there?" "There's knives down here! Get me out, please!" I could hear the sound of distant metal clashing against itself. The echidna dove back down to help his partner.

"Help me!" I heard my partner call out again. I kept working on my lock as fast as I could until at last I heard it break open. Yes! My hand was on the chain when I unlocked it so I managed not to hit the water when my ankle was freed. I swung myself to the rim of the well avoiding going through that pit of doom. I looked down at the well, "Hey! I'm free!" I turned my head to the well across from mine, "Hey, Tim, I-" My eyes widened; the cement had reached to an elevation high enough that it was visible from my stance. "Oh no!" I jumped down and ran to Timothy. I crawled up to the well and stared down at the cement. The mixture of thick grey deposits poured in through cracks intentionally made within the wall. I knew that diving in would be risky, so my next best idea was to pull him out using the pulley that was attached to him. I grasped the chain that was stuck in the cement and attached to the well itself and pulled the rope outward. Because I never got a glimpse of the one below, there was no telling how heavy he ought to have been, making it harder to tell if I was actually pulling him up. I pulled as hard as I could until finally I started to see bubbles form and the weight started to drop, actually it started to drop by a lot. I was getting concerned that I may not have gotten the boy out. At last, the grey goo splashed as the chains reached the surface.

Sadly, it wasn't Timothy.

I tossed the chain aside and found myself lost. I wasn't sure what to do. There wells were made of tough material so bashing it would be nearly impossible. I couldn't dive into the cement myself…could I? I was an incredible risk, but I managed to quickly make up my mind, sought for the chain once more, held my breath, closed my eyes tightly and dropped myself into the cement. My body submerged slowly into the cement. I could feel that most of the content was beginning to harden, meaning I didn't have much time before we were both enclosed in a cement sculpture. I swam through the cement, blindly. My unoccupied hand went about seeking for Timothy's body. I felt various hard chunks of cement that soon collided with others, making the space I had to swim around harder to pass through. After what seemed like long hours in the darkness, I felt something soft and yet hard. I pulled on it and recognized the content, hair. I felt around Timothy's head in search of an arm I could grasp. I managed to locate his arm, but found it impossible to pull put from a wall of cement.

My heart sunk, it was too late.

The only reason I found myself above the grey goo seconds later was due to my lack of air. I reached the surface, pushed the cement off my face and crawled out of the well. "He must have unlocked himself and lost the chain." I felt so powerless, but before my dark feelings could sink in, logic came to mind, "But if that's true," I looked to Knuckles, who was now in the water, "They weren't pulled from the rope down below, it's when we dive or stay levitated that does it!"

I watched as the chain attached to Knuckles was making its way up. I looked to Jon, who's chain was going to opposite way. I quickly dashed to Knuckles' well. "Knuckles! Wait!" I heard Jon screaming behind me, "Wait! Pull me up! I haven't unlocked myself yet! Pull me up!" I would have gone to Jon's well and pulled him out, but then Knuckles would have been trapped in the water and possibly drown. I looked down at Knuckles' well, hoping I could signal him to stay down below. It was no use. Knuckles reached the surface. Knuckles called out, "Hey Jon! I got the key!" He managed to figure out that Jon didn't unlock himself yet so the echidna quickly took the shackles off without much delay and glided over to the other side without realizing I was already unchained. I watched as he tried lifting Jon out of the well by the chain until I called out his name, "Knuckles! The game! It's all a trap!" "What? How did you get out?" "Long story, listen! The pulleys were just a distraction! The way to get him out is through the chains! Pull him up from your side and I'll do it from here!" Knuckles nodded and did as instructed. I went straight to work by pulling the chain down as hard as I could. We watched as Jon was slowly being lifted above the lethal threat down below.

Our plan was working well until we encountered a lagging. The chains on my side had gotten stuck and would not proceed further. "Dang it!" I looked to Knuckles, "Hey, Knuckles! My chain is stuck, I'm going to your side so make sure he doesn't drop!" I released the chain and heard Jon yelp at the sudden drop. I ran over to the other well and helped Knuckles in pulling the boy out of the danger. Soon enough I was able to see the boy down below and pursuing him was the danger, which came to me as a great surprise. The knives were in fact sharp rotating razors that were twirling upward much like a blender. At last, we managed to get the child's body out of the well and helped him unchain himself. "Hurry!" I told him. The razors were making their way closer to him. I watched as Jon's hands shook vigorously as he tried to put the key through the lock. Like me, the lock didn't unlock itself so easily. "No!" I watched him try jamming the key in frustration. "Calm down!" I told him. His sweaty palms grasped the key for a few seconds and then tried again. Alas, he was freed. However, unlike me, he didn't hold on very well and was dropped instantly. He managed to quickly grasp the chain above and held on as he watched the razors progress upward. "Ah!" I told him to swing up to us. He used his body weight to push himself forward and back. The razors were just below his feet. I extended my hand towards him. He jumped off and reached towards me. I watched his hand extend directly over me. I reached forward the best I could to catch him, but he swung at me to early due to his sweaty hands. His eyes filled with loss of hope. He dropped down further and further into the well once more. "JON!" Knuckles and I cried aloud.

Our faces were soon sprayed with his blood as he torn to shreds directly below us. The razors soon stopped spinning and dropped down to the bottom of the well. I was in complete shock. I looked down at my hands and the rest of my body. I was completely covered in a mixture of blood and cement. Knuckles looked at me with the same speechless reaction. The boy's parts were scattered all over the rim and the walls of the well. I couldn't move whatsoever and neither could the red echidna beside me. I couldn't absorb the fact that two people have died right under my nose and worst of all, that I couldn't save them. My egotistic-self seemed almost a dream in comparison to the shame and disgust I felt both in my condition and the result of my actions.

It wasn't long after that that Colvan's voice returned to the speakers, "Congratulations. You both have won." His voice sounded as cold and meaningless as the words portrayed to me. I clenched my fist. To think, this was still all a game to Mephiles.

**Later**

-Original P.O.V.-

Sonic and Knuckles trailed back to look for the others. Earlier, they cleansed themselves in the waters of the well. While they were may have been able to drench the blood and cement off their bodies, they could not wash away the shame nor the memories of the horrific event. Neither one spoke to the other about what had happened. They both wished that watching someone die the way they did would be sufficient torment, but after leaving the room, they both knew that there was still more to go through. Sonic continued to move forward until he heard a small voice coming from a distance. He looked around, unsure if he had indeed heard something. He picked up the voice again and decided to ask the echidna about it. He shook the echidna, "Hey, Knuckles, do you hear that?" The two males turned their bodies to the voice and just as it appeared, a limping being made its way towards them. Out of the dark, the limping being formed into Amy Rose. Amy was however, not alone. In her arms was Rouge the Bat. The pink hedgehog struggled with her own condition and that of the bat. Sonic and Knuckles quickly rushed in their aid. Amy soon collapsed and dropped Rouge in the action of doing so. The hero glanced over their bodies. Rouge and Amy were spotted with bruises and striped with cuts over their bodies. "What the heck happened?" Knuckles said. Rouge lifted her head up a bit to look at Knuckles, "Mephiles…" The echidna growled, "That low life being did this to you?! Why that monster! I'm going to pound him hard for this!" Sonic knelt down, "What's with Amy carrying you if she can hardly walk?" "It was her idea," Rouge continued, "Mephiles broke my legs and we went through so much that even flying was difficult." The blue hedgehog would have questioned the maniac's actions, but after his own experience, he was sure it wasn't the time nor place to have them remember what they endured.

Shortly after that, Tails came forward from the same unknown spot that Amy and Rouge emerged from. "Tails!" Sonic cried. He ran to his best friend in great joy and holding a big smile, but as soon as the boy's face was visible, he stopped in his tracks and dropped his smile. Tails held a solemn frown and had a big bruise over his left eyes with a few others on his legs and arms as he limped towards the blue blur. The blue eyes rejected to look into the emerald ones of his friend. The fox whispered a soft greeting and joined the girls resting on the floor.

The azure hedgehog walked back to the weakened group, "Mephiles did this, to all of you?" Amy, Rouge, and Tails all looked at one another with the same expressions, turned to Sonic, and nodded yes. "What happened to you two?" Amy asked, "I'm sure you two weren't left out in the games were you?" The two rivals faced one another and looked down at their feet. "Don't makes us remember it," Sonic pleaded. The solemn moment lasted in silence among the group for some time until Tails recollected something, "Hey, did anyone get the news that Mephiles has a possible wife?" "I'm sure it's another one of Mephiles' fibs. Besides, who would marry that lunatic?" Knuckles replied. Amy joined into the conversation, "No, wait! Rouge and I heard that same story, well not exactly, but that he claimed to have one when some people sought out to him for help."

The blue blur looked to Amy, "This is starting to get a little strange. Mephiles would never use the same tactics on everyone. If he does have a wife, she's either as cynical as he is or she may just be another pawn in the game." "You think that's mysterious, Mephiles told us that the only one he wanted was you." Everyone glared at the blue blur. Sonic widened his eyes, "M-me? What I could I possibly mean to him?" "He also showed us that it was he who took those mysterious photos of all of us." "What?!" Knuckles and Sonic responded in complete shock. "Whatever he wants…it all revolves around you. I think he wants you to suffer if he's taking the time to treat us all like this," Amy replied.

"First Mephiles has a mysterious wife and now he's supposedly after me? What could I possibly mean to him?"

"Who knows? Whatever it is, if he hasn't treated you as badly as any of us, he could be preserving you for something much greater," Rouge added. The twin-tailed fox stood up, "Well, I don't want to stay and find out. Let's find a way to ditch this place!" "No!" Everyone looked back at Sonic once more in deep surprise, "No? You're not looking to stay here are you?" Sonic replied, "You can all run off, but I'm not leaving here until I get an idea just what this creep wants. If he's gone this far to prepare all of this and go through the trouble to do so, it must be important!" "Are you insane? Wasn't it bad enough what we just went through?" Knuckles cried.

"I know it's crazy, but-"

"Crazy? It's suicide!"

"Like I said, you don't have to stay-"

"And leave you here the way you left your partner back in that well? No! I have enough blood on my hands!"

"Now, just a second! Neither of us knew what was going on and it was completely rigged!"

"Well maybe if you had left me give him his needed beating; we would never have had that happen to us!"

"You and your senseless mind!"

The two growled at one another and prepared for a fist fight until the sound of a slow clapping caught the party's attention. Out of the dark was the sound of slow clapping and the silhouette of a hedgehog resembling that of Sonic's counterpart, Shadow. In the hero's heart however, knew the timing and place would not permit this incoming being to be the hedgehog he longed for it to be. Yes, it was the sadist, Mephiles. "How convenient to find all of you altogether!" Knuckles charged towards Mephiles without further thought except the being's own presence, "How nice to see you too!" The echidna leaped forward, raised his knuckles to the air and dove them down for attack. However, things didn't go as planned. Mephiles struck the echidna down with a dark power that he unleashed through the wave of his hand. Knuckles was thrown to the floor and made a harsh drag to the bottom. The echidna managed to lift himself up without too much damage, "Ugh! Is that all ya' got?" "My, my, is this how you treat all those in your presence?" The dark being approached the group; the more physically abused victims huddled together in union meanwhile Knuckles and Sonic formed a self-barrier to protect those behind them, "What do you want?" the blue hero asked. "I heard you wanted to know what I wanted you for." Green eyes followed the dark creature as he walked around answering the question,

"I won't tell you because that would spoil all the fun."

"This was always just a game for you wasn't it?"

"On the contrary Sonic, it's all critical in my plans, and yes, everything revolves around you. Just like everything else. Just like a game, however, I won't deny it's been fun thus far."

The mysterious being waved his hands up and suddenly, a giant purple and black sphere formed in the gap between his hands. The sphere was then directed at Sonic and the rest of his friends. Everything went blank after that/

++Elsewhere++

Blue eyelids fluttered open. At first, he didn't see anything, but after blinking, his pupils caught a ray of light which flickered his night-vision. It wasn't superficial, but at least he could make out the dark silhouettes of those around him. Sonic and his friends awakened on a cold floor in a dark room. "Is everyone here?" The hero questioned. He stood up and looked at the figures below him and began to hear them all raise their voices. He nodded, "Alright." He looked to a distance and saw that not too far away was a lit torch on a blue brink wall. He turned back to his friends, "There's light over there! Let's go!" The blue hedgehog scurried over to the torch, picked it out of its holder and ran back to his friends. The torch illuminated the dark room well enough to display each and every one of their faces. "Good work, Sonic. Where do we go from here?" Knuckles asked. "I figured we ought to follow the light. It seems reasonable. The echidna looked behind him and saw nothing but darkness, so he made no haste to retaliate. Rouge, on the other hand, could see in the dark, and she could see that there was no passageway behind them.

"If that torch goes out, I can show you all the way," The white bat proclaimed. She would have bragged about her superior senses as a bat, but something dark and sinister in her memories saddened her to not do so. The echidna offered a hand to the bat and at first she denied it, but after some persuasion, she allowed the echidna to take her hand. The red guardian offered to carry the bat throughout their travels and after having no choice but to endure, she allowed him to be lifted from the floor. In having to lift her bridal-style, he noticed a bare feeling on Rouge's back. He tried to take a look at it, but Rouge smacked the echidna away, "I said you could help me, not touch me!"

"I wasn't trying to imply anything inappropriate."

"Neither was I."

"Well if that's the case, let me see your back."

"No!"

The two shoved hands away until the echidna pushed her down and managed to get a view of some scars and red lines. He widened his eyes, "What the-" The bat pushed herself back up, "Don't touch me." The echidna's face grew more concerned, "Rouge, what happened?" The white bat looked away appearing to be ashamed. Sonic was there also witnessing the discussion. He could sense that like her, she wanted to speak up, but the memories made it difficult to do so. Sonic called to Knuckles' attention, "Let her be, I'm sure she doesn't want to remember it." Surprisingly, the echidna refused to shrug it off so easily,

"No! I want to know what the son-of-a-bitch did to her!"

"Knuckles, don't-"

"Shut up, Sonic! She's not like Shadow who could just push anything away!"

Before the blue blur could lash out in defense, Rouge yelled, "He raped me!" Everyone grew silent. The echidna's face appeared to have lost its color as he showed a face in disbelief, "What did you say?" The bat explained, "He opened me from the back and whipped me. He then started beating me and eventually broke my legs when I refused to comply with him," she paused as she fought back the tears, "After that he…" Tears began to involuntarily leak from her eyes. She hid her face with her gloved hand that wasn't latched around the echinda's neck. The guardian cursed and swore to the heavens for revenge meanwhile the hero watched as he thought about the pain she must have endured. He looked to Amy, who then looked away. He hope that the same hadn't occurred to her.

Moments later, the group was making way through the dark tunnel. The fire crackling from the torch and echoing footsteps were the only sounds being heard. That was until the white bat picked up a sound. Her ear turned to the sound, "Hey, Sonic, do you hear that?" The hero, who had been leading the group, stopped and so did everyone else. The blue hedgehog tried to listen for anything, but in return he appeared clueless, "I don't hear anything." Rouge nodded, "Hm, perhaps it was just an echo of some sort."

The group kept walking a few more feet ahead, until Rouge picked up the sound once more, "There it is again!" she said, only with a more nervous tone to her voice. Amy tried to listen for anything. She looked towards Sonic, who was directly in front of her, "I hear it too," she turned her head, "It sounds like it's coming from-" Soon the small sound started to rise in the air, as it echoed into all their ears. "It sounds like some sort of growl," Knuckles said. Amy looked around nervously, "Oh, no! I hope it's not-" The pink hedgehog was cut off when the fox yelped, "Ah! There's something running towards us!" Sonic turned around and placed the torch in front of him. From what he could gather, three ferocious dogs were running towards them. The hedgehog widened his eyes, lifted Amy from her feet and called out to everyone to follow him. Knuckles and Sonic ran for their safety meanwhile Tails was submitted to flying away.

The young fox tried to keep up with the others, but the pain he endured previously made his tail-spins a pain to do. Slowly, he found himself dropping to an elevation where the dogs started to jump in hopes of getting a bite out of the kitsune. Tails squealed and called out to his allies, "Sonic! Knuckles! Help!" Sonic looked behind him and watched as Tails was slowly decending to the hungry mouths of the dogs. Seeing how the animals were now focused on making the yellow fox their dinner, the hero dropped off the pink hedgehog and dashed to rescue his friend. He sped off as fast as his feet could take him, By this time, the fox had lost his fight and was falling to the clutches of hunger. "Ahhh!" he cried. He closed his eyes and awaited to be devoured until he felt a push of air direct him to the side. The dogs snapped and growled as the blue hedgehog ran off with their meal. Tails opened his eyes slowly and looked up to the blue blur, who was there smiling at him, "Gotcha!" Sonic said. The fox smiled, "Thanks Sonic!"

Alas he caught up with the red echidna as he was seen juggling between Rouge and Amy. The echidna stopped running and so did the hedgehog. The echidna smirked, "You're lucky I can lift them both ya'know." Sonic smirked back, "I figured I could count on you for that." Knuckles dropped his smirk, "Listen, I want to apologize for what I said earlier. I had no right to-" The hero brushed away the guardian's apology with the wave of his gloved hand, "Don't sweat it Knuckles! I know you didn't mean it," he chuckled, "After all I think we're all used to you being a hot-head!" The echidna snorted, "Whatever." Tails began poking his friend, "Ugh, Sonic?" The hero turned his head to Tails, who had been in his arms since the rescue, "What's up Tails?" "Shouldn't we focusing on those things that are..I don't know, going to EAT US!" The hero laughed, "Those things are long gone by now!"

Suddenly, the barking and growling were soon coming back to their ears. Everyone looked back and watched as the dogs continued their pursuit. "Okay, maybe I was wrong! Everybody move it!" Sonic cried as he dashed away as soon as he could. Knuckles followed Sonic right behind him. "How far down does this tunnel go?" Knuckles yelled to the hero in front, "I don't know! I thought we could have out ran them but it looks like we'll need to get rid of them if not block them!" The echidna stopped running and released the girls in his grasp. The two looked at Knuckles in confusion, "Knuckles, what are you doing?" Amy questioned. The echidna turned around and watched as the dogs pumped their legs faster. "I'm going to distract them. Run off and meet up with Sonic. Rouge, guide Amy through the rest of the tunnel if you get lost!" The white bat shook her wings and attempted to make flight, luckily it worked. She looked down at the pink hedgehog and directed her to follow. As Amy started making her way forward, Rouge looked back, "What about you?" "Don't worry about me! Now get going!" The white bat smirked before disappearing into the dark abyss. The dogs launched their powered limbs at the echidna and prepared to sink their teeth into him.

The echidna cracked his knuckles, "Let's see how tough you are!" He punched one of the dogs that launched at him in mid-air and watched as it dropped back down with a whimper following. The next dog attacked him and received the same blow as the one before. The echidna shoved his spiked knuckles at the animal's body wherever he could. At first he believed to be gaining the upper hand until one of the dogs scurried over behind him and managed to dig its razor-sharp fangs into his arm. The echidna cried out a shout of pain, "Gaah!" He looked to the dog and tried to shake it off of him. Pretty soon, he was being attacked by the others until he was overpowered by them all climbing over him. The dogs tore at the echidna's flesh bit by bit as they consumed him alive.

The cerulean hedgehog looked behind him. He couldn't see anyone following him, so he slowed down until he eventually stopped. He looked back and called, "Knuckles! Where are you?!" He couldn't hear the sound of anyone yelling. He heard a cry of pain from before and was beginning to fear that the mad wolves had gotten to him. The cerulean hedgehog looked around him and saw the path was still ongoing. Before he raced back to look for Knuckles, he saw Rouge and Amy coming from the darkness. "Rouge! Amy!" he called out. The pink hedgehog squinted and looked in front of her. Holding the torch was her hero standing with Tails in his arms. Her heart began to beat faster, she soon found herself racing towards him, her hero now widening his eyes as he saw what was coming. He quickly let go of Tails and waved his hands out in front of him, pleading for her not to go on. Of course, since when did the fan girl ever comply? She launched herself at her hero and held him tightly. Sonic pushed his face away from her as she gripped him tightly, "Sonic! You're alright!" The cerulean hero chuckled, "Yeah, but I'd be better off if you were restraining me!" The pink hedgehog released her hero and looked at him with loving eyes. Despite her knowledge of his relationship with the black blur, her heart had not stopped to feel the compelling moment of joy and love she had for her beloved hero. As for the hero himself, he tried to avoid her loving self. He looked ahead and asked, "Hey, where's Knuckles?" Amy looked to Rouge, who looked a bit concerned, "He left us to fend off the wolves," she frowned, "I'm not sure if he'll make it back." Sonic smirked, "A guy as touch as Knuckles? I'm sure he's fine! It'll take more than a pack of old mutts to tire out that echidna!" The two girls smirked back, hoping that Sonic had been right about his prediction.

"Should we wait for him?" Tails asked. Sonic pondered and looked to the remaining path, "I don't see the road getting any smaller. I'll go back and find him. If I'm not back in five minutes, keep moving." Before anyone could stop him, the hero had left in a blue streak of light as he passed. The rest of his friends sat in the darkness.

The blue hero never did locate Knuckles. All that remained were fresh blood and a couple of dead dogs. He called out the echidna's name, "HEY KNUCKLES! YOU OUT HERE?" He cried out his name so many times. The loss of the muscle in the group was heart-wreching. He felt that more blood was stained upon him. Sonic looked towards he hands and dropped to the floor. He fought back to feelings to cry and instead swore under his breath. The hero title appeared even more hateful now. Despite the scenery, a part of him wanted to believe that the guardian was stll alive somehow. This hope however, was as unpredictacble as that of Cream and Cheese's living whereabouts. The blue hero returned to his friends with the torch still in his hand and proceeded without further explanation other than he had most likely left. The mentions of finding scraps of his remains seemed too graphic for the others to hear. It was difficult enough for him to swallow.

Finally, at the end of the road was another torch and as far as the emerald eyes could see the rest of the way was illuminated with electricity. Sonic and the others continued walking and noticed that from the path run by wires, the lights were flickering with a few dead moths lying under the blue bulbs. They continued on until their eyes caught the sight of something completely unpredictable.

A telephone booth stood right in front of the friends right under a bright blue neon light bulb. The hero ran to the phone, "A telephone!" he cried. The phone itself was hidden in a box that had been left open. Sonic looked in and located a black corded phone and looked at the buttons. Luckily, it was still in style of the 20th century. Amy and the others ran over behind the hero. "Thank goodness!" Amy cried, "Get help quickly!" Tails looked around the telephone pole and examined the wiring, "Strange, what's this doing in the middle of nowhere?" Amy scorned, "Who cares? Let's just get help so we can leave his place!" She looked to Sonic, "C'mon Sonic! Dial the authorities already!"

Before the hero could comply, he paused and thought about the black hedgehog. The deaths and possible deaths of his friends were unbearable and for a moment he wanted to escape his reality. The only way he could think of doing so was by hearing Shadow at least for a moment. Sonic stood there holding onto the phone in his loss of thought. "Hello?" Amy questioned as she noticed the hero freeze. She called out louder, "HELLO! SONIC!" The hedgehog snapped out of his illusion, "W-what?" "The phone, Sonic!" "Oh," he looked to the numbers once more. He had no idea if this phone would permit more than one call, but knowing that Mephiles may have placed this here for all to see, he figured it most likely was rigged. "I-I can't." Amy cocked her eyebrow. Her emerald eyes watched as her hero pressed more buttons than would be necessary for help. At first she had no idea who he might be calling until an idea snapped. The pink hedgehog shook at the hedgehog's arm,

"You're not calling for Shadow are you?"

"I just need to hear his voice!"

"You can't be serious! We're dying and the last thing you can think of is calling your boyfriend?!"

"Shadow has militant personnel at his will; he and his people are the best shot we've got at getting out of here in comparison to just cops!"

Amy yelled, "Sonic the Hedgehog! You get off that phone this instant! You're wasting a precious call!"

Suddenly, the blue ears picked up the sound of a response, "Hello?" Sonic gestured Amy to remain silent as he took the call. The preppy hedgehog turned away and growled at the complete ignorance she was receiving. "Hello, is someone there?" Sonic responded. He heard the sound of a man reply back, "Yes, this is Private Nelson speaking, who's calling?"

"It's me, Sonic the Hedgehog! Is Agent Shadow there?"

"Shadow? Uh… I don't think he can talk to you now. He got a heavy blow and is a coma or something like that."

"A coma? What?!"

"I don't know. We got attacked and Shadow and the rest of us set out to fight back. I'm not all for the details."

"Can you see if he woke up, yet?"

"If he had, I would have known."

"Well, could you let him know that I called?"

"Yeah, sure. Anything else?"

"Yeah, I'm also calling for an SOS. My friends and I were kidnapped and we don't know where we are! Please, send us someone to help us?"

"Well, where are ya?"

"We don't know."

"What are you calling from?"

"A telephone that we found underground. Please sir! Come for us quickly!"

"Yeah, sure thing."

The phone was disconnected. He hung up and looked amongst his friends and all but Amy were expressionless. The pink hedgehog appeared annoyed. "They're going out to find us." I told them. Rouge looked towards the phone and watched as the light from booth shut off. "Let's keep moving," she said. The rest continued onward meanwhile Amy moved at a snail's pace. Sonic noticed her behavior and decided to bring her up in front of the group where he began to question her. Amy continued to evade the blue hedgehog as she crossed her arms and pouted. "Amy, are you alright?" "Nevermind me, Sonic, how's your 'beloved' doing?" Sonic looked away and sighed, "I'm not sure. I didn't get to even talk to him." The two remained silent for the duration of the walk. The path ended with them coming to a flight of stairs leading to the surface. "Looks like this is it," the hero predicted. He climbed up the stairs and reached the surface as everyone else waited for a signal to continue. Sonic popped his head out of the exit and signaled everyone to follow. Rouge picked up Amy and ascended with Tails to the exit, where a beaming light blinded them at the entrance. When their eyes settled with the surroundings, their hearts and hopes sunk. They were back at the stables.


End file.
